12 Nights of KakaIru Christmas
by DixieGoddess
Summary: 12 Christmases/holidays of Kakashi and Iruka as they find each other throughout the years. KakashixIruka pairing.
1. Our First Christmas

1.

Kakashi stepped lightly across the snow-covered ground, expertly using the chakra in his feet to stay on top of the white powder so he didn't sink.

Rin and his sensei were expecting him for Christmas, but he didn't much feel up to it. He had spent several hours of the very early morning at the memorial stone, sufficiently beating himself up for the fact that Obito was not going to be able to join them this Christmas. He didn't know why the rest of his team even wanted him around on the holiday.

Obito had always been the one who made gatherings fun.

His left eye twinged, and he clamped a hand over it through his hitai-ite. The tears stung beneath the eyelid, but he forced them back. He may have missed Obito, but he refused to allow his crybaby eye to take over his sensibilities. He gritted his teeth and berated himself until the internal rage pushed aside the sorrow.

The young Kakashi was so lost in self-pity that he completely missed the not-so-subtle footsteps sneaking up on him, nor the whiz of the air as the projectile rapidly approached its target – him.

He somersaulted through the air and landed in a defensive crouch as soon as the first stinging, cold ball splattered against the back of his neck. His single eye hardened and swept the area… But blinked in surprise when it caught the tail-end of a child's ponytail duck back behind a tree with an audible giggle.

His posture relaxed, but he switched from a deadly to annoyed demeanor. How embarrassing that he had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he had allowed a child to sneak up on him… He was supposed to be a jounin, for goodness' sake.

He huffed and turned away, swiping the remnants of snow off his neck with a curt flick. It wasn't worth his time to engage with a random kid.

The second snowball was easily detected, and he dodged it without looking back. He felt the other child behind him freeze in shock, and Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. Whoever it was obviously had no idea who he was messing with. Surely, he would give it up and run along now.

The jounin had no sooner had the thought when he heard the quickening of rapidly approaching feet. It still took little difficulty to dodge the next barrage of 'attacks,' the crudely fashioned snowballs whizzing past him and breaking apart far from their intended target.

He turned and caught the unmasked expression on his young, tan attacker. The boy had a large scar stretching across his nose, and it crinkled in frustration. Kakashi felt his own irritation take a backseat to the pleasure he derived from knowing the little brat was feeling the pain of not being able to hit him.

However, he wasn't about to allow the intrusion to go unpunished at this point. So, in the midst of dodging the next barrage of snowballs, he bent into a backflip, scooping some snow with him as he came back up. In his next spin through the air, he flung with jounin expertise, and a little bit of extra chakra, and felt quite pleased when the brunette blur on his tail let out a loud "Oof!" and plopped into the fluffy snow with a satisfying puff of white.

Kakashi smirked, calming his breathing.

He waited as small tan fingers appeared over the edge of the snow, digging in with haphazard chakra as their owner struggled to find leverage. Finally, the brunette, pony-tailed head popped up, a large smile stretched across his scarred face.

Kakashi stepped back in surprise.

The boy laughed without shame. "You're good!" he exclaimed, but there wasn't dismay in his voice. He tumbled without much grace out of the hole in the snow, sinking into it on his ass as he came to a seated position with his legs splayed out in front of him in a very childish posture. It was clear from his movements that he was a ninja-in-training, but his chakra control was a sloppy step above civilian, at best. His demeanor left even more to be desired. Kakashi immediately pegged him as The Class Clown. Every year had one.

Like Obito.

The sour, silver-haired boy rolled his exposed eye. "Yes. I am," he deadpanned. "Now if you'll excuse me."

If his trained eye hadn't caught the flash of devilish smirk on the other child's face as he began turning away, the snotty ninja-wannabe might have actually gotten him.

From his position, the boy shot chakra down his arm and used it as a propeller to shoot him forward at an impressive speed. He supported himself on the same hand that was holding him above the snow with the chakra blast, and leaned to the side, digging the heels of his outstretched legs into the top layer of powder.

Kakashi simultaneously shielded himself from the blinding spray and backflipped out of reach as the free tan hand made a grab for him and skimmed his arm. He had no doubt that if he had been some ordinary genin, like most his age, he'd be face down in the snow now.

He skidded to a halt, on full alert now. His eye narrowed. The other boy spun to a stop, still grinning despite his failed attempt. Kakashi bristled at the display of cockiness. The boy stood perfectly on top of the snow now – chakra applied evenly to his feet.

He'd been duped.

Let his guard down, thinking it was just some stupid kid.

Well… he was. But he'd obviously been hiding his true skill level. As well an inherent cleverness and penchant for trickery.

This was getting… interesting.

For the first time in a long time, Kakashi grinned. He felt his embarrassment fade away and pride swell as he noticed that the boy faltered just slightly at the change in his own stature. He knew they were both all-in now.

The tan throat moved just slightly as he gulped, but Kakashi saw it and felt his stomach jump with feral excitement.

He disappeared.

The brown eyes blinked, but the boy soon crouched and started scanning his surroundings, the quickening breathing creating shorter and shorter clouds of breath as he tried to locate his missing enemy.

The first snowball made hard contact with the brunette head, and the boy pitched forward, steadying himself at the last second. The barrage continued from above, but the boy was fast – ducking to the side and zig-zagging to avoid the assault.

Kakashi smirked as the boy below him grabbed handfuls of snow as he ran and added small bits of chakra to them as he haphazardly flung them toward the sky, hoping to at least stave off his attacker, even if he had no chance of hitting him without sight or aim. The jounin, of course, dodged them easily as he floated back to the earth. He landed without sound as the tan form disappeared behind a tree.

He began stalking his prey, keeping a soft crouch to his posture, and going at an angle. He wasn't about to underestimate his opponent again.

He felt the movement more than he saw it and had to give the kid props for his stealth.

Too bad said kid was up against an elite prodigy.

Even though he knew the other boy wasn't on the backside of the tree any longer, he continued to creep, playing like he was fooled, while keeping his senses stretched out to find his true location.

Of all the places he expected an attack, a replay of his own aerial maneuver wasn't one of them. The first snowball nicked only his earlobe as he dodged at the last second, but he was still ruffled at the fact that it had even touched him.

The copycat strategy was either very foolish and unoriginal… or very smart, as it would be the last thing any self-respecting ninja would expect. Hmm…

However, Kakashi was not about to duck and dodge into the cover of trees like his opponent had done.

Perhaps it was cheating, but he was about ready to show off some of his true shinobi prowess.

He flew through the hand-signs in the half-blink of an eye that it took the boy to launch another snowball. As he pressed his palms to the snow, a sharp sheet of ice interfered with the snowball before it was halfway down to him, shooting into the sky, slicing the ball in half, and coming a mere hair away from the shocked boy as he stuck his legs out to try to stop his face from colliding with the ice.

The shoes connected, but one slipped, with not enough time to apply the proper amount of chakra. He spiraled gracelessly to the earth and hit the snow hard for the second time.

Kakashi felt a little bad as the boy scrambled to his feet much more quickly this time, eyes wide with shock, and a little bit of fear, as they took in the ice tower.

He brought his brown eyes back down to squint at Kakashi though the hazy sheet of frozen water that separated them. Then blinked in confusion when the image disappeared. He put his hands up and slowly backed away from the ice, sweeping circles in a 360 degree scan of his surroundings. This time, he also reached his chakra out above him, scanning the skies as well without looking.

The jounin felt the chakra flare and took a moment to be impressed with the skill from a pre-genin. He almost felt bad for ending it this way.

Almost.

A pale hand popped out of the snow and grabbed the tan ankle before the boy could even yell in surprise.

And with a final flip and whoosh of air, Kakashi pinned his prize beneath him. His taut hands gripped thin wrists and pressed them into the snow. The boy breathed heavily beneath him, no longer struggling – knowing he had lost. The long, chestnut hair was splayed out around the tan and flushed face now. The face in question looked exactly as the young pre-teen he was – innocence and wonder.

Then the boy smiled – warm, silly…

Pure.

"I surrender."

A hot coil lit in Kakashi's stomach at the breathless words. He suddenly became acutely aware of the way his legs straddled the stick-straight hips and how close he was to the other's panting mouth. Now that the impromptu 'battle' was over, the young jounin began to come back to himself. He was Kakashi Hatake. Youngest genius, jounin in the history of Konoha. Son of the White Fang. Inheritor of the Sharingan from the Uchiha clan.

And a 12-year old who had let all of that leave his mind in the midst of a snowball fight with a stranger.

He felt the shiver go through the young boy's body and reverberate up his own, bringing his awareness back to the fact that they were lying full in the snow.

He released his captive with a snap backwards, and was on his feet, stiff and awkward, before the boy could slowly push himself to a seated position.

He blushed as the smaller child climbed to his feet, no care in the world translating through his body or movements. Of course, being a genius and well-traveled shinobi in all matters meant Kakashi had much more experience in… well, everything. Peers his own age wouldn't even begin to think of their bodies, movements, or words in more than a straight-forward and relatively innocent manner for another few years.

He shoved his hands back in his pockets and cleared his throat. The boy stared at him with curiosity as he patted the wet substance off his backside. Kakashi fought back the blush...

Then fought off the twitch in his left eye as a part of him strained with desire to study the image of the other more closely. He resolutely fixed his own gray eye off to the side. "Well, then… I'll be going."

He resumed his slow trek to Yondaime's, moving casually past the boy.

"Thanks for playing with me."

He paused.

Playing? Is that what he had been doing? Surely not – genius ninja prodigy Kakashi had not _played _since he was two-years old.

His mind whirled back, replaying the moments before. He had started his retaliation out of annoyance, but… it _had _turned into a game, hadn't it?

Mildly uncomfortable, he tried to shrug it off. One shoulder lifted and dropped with careless indifference as he wordlessly began moving forward again.

The boy hesitated, but only for a moment. "Merry Christmas!"

Kakashi stopped again, this time peeking over his shoulder and allowing himself a look. But the boy was already sprinting in the other direction. He wondered if it had anything to do with his cool demeanor or if the kid just had somewhere he was supposed to be on Christmas day, and was probably worrying his family and risking a lecture. Like Kakashi. Though he wasn't so concerned about the lecture. At this point, he was sure his sensei and Rin assumed he wasn't coming. He could most likely turn around and skip the ordeal altogether, and his two teammates wouldn't bring it up later anyway.

So, he ignored the blatant shock on their faces when he let himself in through a window and began removing his scarf and shoes as though his presence was completely normal.

He forced himself to ignore, even more, the questioning sweep of eyes over his ruffled and quite damp body – even as Kushina fetched a towel from the other room and handed it over silently, her twinkling eyes meeting her husband's over the young jounin's head.

Rin finally tried a brilliant smile in his direction as he settled into an armchair. "Merry Christmas, Kakashi-kun!"

He only grunted in response, but couldn't help but notice the similarities in her youthful smile and the one he had just met that day. Against the chill of his still damp clothes, he felt strangely warm.


	2. The Dreaded Christmas Party

2.

The lights were garish, and the music was too loud. Which made it all the more impressive that a particular kunoichi's voice still managed to rise above it.

Kakashi felt Asuma bump into his shoulder, and he caught the sideways look that implied that he was supposed to stop being an antisocial grouch and leaning against the corner with a book in front of his face. He ignored the look and buried his head more deeply into the cover. He knew the other jounin was rolling his eyes, but he ignored it, and the dark-haired man left his side again.

Anko's continued drunken shouting made it rather difficult to actually focus on the words in front of him, but Kakashi felt the book barrier was his best chance at staving off any attempts at conversation.

He had no idea why he was even there. He hadn't been to any sort of Christmas celebration since Yondaime passed away. He had only just started being somewhat social again in the past few months since taking some time off from ANBU. A loud, crowded gathering in Anko's cramped apartment on Christmas Eve wasn't exactly something he wanted to be thrown into headfirst after years of secrecy and mostly solitude.

Apparently, his comrades had other ideas though.

If Asuma hadn't cajoled him out of his tree, he was sure Anko herself would have drunkenly tracked him down at some point. According to his fellow jounin, he needed to 'get out more,' though that made seriously little sense since the party was in someone's home, but… he wasn't about to argue.

He figured he had made his appearance, and the deal had been that he had to _come _– not that he had to speak to anyone or even show the courtesy of looking interested. With any luck, he could hide away in the shadows while Anko distracted mostly everyone else, until such time that he could reasonably slip out without being noticed or yelled at for leaving too early.

At least he hadn't seen –

"MY FAIR RIVAL!"

Goddammit.

Kakashi gave the most dramatic sigh he could muster, purposely moving his shoulders up and down before slowly closing his book. His demeanor displayed nothing but boredom as he studied the green-clad man over the top. He even tried to put his eye partially out of focus so as to appear more disinterested. "Yo."

Gai began to cry dramatically. "MY HIP AND COOL RIVAL! SO NONCHALANT! SO… _SUAVE_!"

Kakashi could hear the giggles starting around the room, even as the music continued to pump out holiday ballads at an obnoxiously loud level. His eye caught Asuma smirking at him. The bearded man lifted his beer in a mocking salute.

He'd kill him later, Kakashi decided…

He tucked his book into his back pocket. "Look, Gai – "

"I challenge you!"

Of course he did…

Kakashi had long since ceased to wonder how his loudest compatriot could go from shouting to tears, back to shouting, and then quite possibly having flames of passion erupt behind him without missing a beat. He regarded him with continued forced detachment. "Yes, certainly… I – oh no!" He suddenly pointed behind Gai, eye wide with shock. "Is that a pair of spandex stuck in a tree!?"

"What! Where!?" Gai whipped his head around before the urgent words could fully process. But upon not seeing anything suspicious, the cogs clicked into place, and he whirled back to the corner of the room to find it empty. He clutched his bowl-cut with dramatic flair and anguish. "Ka-ka-shiiii!"

The silver-haired man sighed from the roof of the building. It still shook beneath him with the stereos. He figured Anko must be lucky that all her neighbors were equally crazy shinobi who were probably at the party or else out of town on missions. He could hear the hostess in question declare that it was time for karaoke, and he decided his time there was officially up.

He stealthily slunk down the side of the building until his feet rested on the porch in front of Anko's unit and peeked through the window. No one was paying any attention to his absence, and he could even see Gai getting dragged into the kitchen for a drink. He nodded. Good.

He went to take his leave and reeled back as he almost crashed right into a young man that he, very embarrassingly, had not seen or heard come up the stairs or approach. The other man squeaked, and his hands flew in front of him in would-be defense of a collision. Kakashi caught his balance and tried to regain his composure.

"Sorry. I…" he trailed off as his eye finally focused on the person he had almost collided with. A tall, slender man stood in front of him. His tan skin and dark features blurred at the edges in the night, but Kakashi could still make out the brown hair in a high ponytail, big brown eyes, and a very distinct scar stretching across his nose. The jounin's heart thumped once with abrupt recognition that his brain began trying to place from long ago.

But those brown orbs were blinking at him with surprise and zero familiarity. "Ah-hh… no! _I'm _sorry!" the tan man spluttered and attempted a warm smile now. "I shouldn't have snuck up on you."

Kakashi stopped staring as his ego bristled. He had no idea who this guy was, meaning he wasn't a jounin, and he certainly shouldn't have been able to _sneak up _on the legendary copy-nin. He coughed lightly to break the tension and try to appear unperturbed. "Not at all. I should have been looking where I was going."

The other man blinked. "Are you leaving the party already?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Anko just busted out the karaoke."

"Ah, so I'm just in time then." There was a heavy hint of laughter and sarcasm to the polite voice.

Kakashi found himself wilting into easy placation around it. The feeling wasn't unwelcome, and he studied the pleasant face more evenly, realizing he wanted nothing more at that moment than to continue to be around and speak to this calming and intriguing presence. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

The tan man flushed. "Oh! Sorry! I'm – "

"Kakashi! THERE you ARE!"

Both men froze as the door to the apartment banged open, and the copy-nin could just _see _the amazed horror on the other's face that could only come from encountering Gai Maito for the first time. The young man darted his eyes back and forth between them for a moment as Kakashi merely slumped in on himself, refusing to turn around.

Finally, the tan man pointed awkwardly. "Uh-hum… it appears your… friend… is looking for you…"

Kakashi didn't need to turn around to know that Gai was posing like a madman, stupid grin on his stupid face with those stupid eyebrows, and was haughtily waiting for the other jounin to acknowledge the accusation. He could also just barely make out the porch creak underneath the swaying feet behind him and knew that the single drink had severely impaired The Blue Beast's judgment, in more ways than one. Even if he had _wanted _to kick Gai's ass now, it wouldn't be fair. He closed his eye with a self-pitying look and allowed the tension to increase for another second.

Then he poofed.

He heard the enraged scream from Gai clear as day since he had only transported to the ceiling below the balcony where he had been standing.

But Gai didn't need to know that.

"KAKASHI! I EXPECT MORE FROM YOU, MY RIVAL! QUIT BEING A COWARD AND **FACE ME LIKE A MAAAAN!**"

He almost felt bad enough for the random ninja that had just shown up to go back up and save him from the display. But the next thing he heard was Anko's equally loud screech as she went barreling past Gai and crashed into said ninja who only laughed awkwardly. Gai began to cry about being ignored and losing his honor. Everyone continued to ignore him. Gai cried more pitifully.

He heard the soft voice trying to have a sincere moment with the hostess of the party over the theatrical jounin's tantrum. "Was that really Kakashi Hatake?"

"Pffft! He's not that special!" Anko slurred. "He's a party pooper!"

Kakashi hardly felt chagrined at the insult.

"N-no… I was just wondering –"

Anko's clumsy feet clattered above him as she interrupted, babbling something incoherent and began to drag the new arrival inside toward the chaos. "Hey, everyone! Iruka's here!" she announced in the doorway. "Someone give him the mic!"

"Anko, no! I just got – "

Kakashi peeked over the railing just in time to see the flustered man shoved fully inside and the door slam behind him, sealing his fate. But before it closed, his trained ninja eye caught a glimpse of the scarred face, rumpled into fiery irritation as the brown ponytail whipped to the side.

Kakashi's heart gave another leap, and he paused, a full memory settling into his brain now. A memory filled with snow.

"Hmm… Iruka…" he muttered to himself.

Then he turned, ignoring the drunken, green mess of blubbering where Gai had thrown himself like a toddler onto the porch, and hopped away into the night.


	3. Our First Christmas Eve

3.

"...alll is calm... alll is bright... hmm hm hmmm hm hm - hmm hm hm hmmmm"

The soft humming was almost drowned out by the stamping and shuffling of papers. Tan hands worked nimbly, chipping away steadily at the stack of paperwork. The room was otherwise deserted, and the halls of the Hokage tower were completely empty. The other occupants had all left several hours ago, wishing him a Merry Christmas and telling him not to stay too long. Iruka had smiled and nodded his assent, but he had never really had any intention of following through and leaving before the work was done.

What did it matter? He had no family to spend the holiday with. No significant other to exchange gifts. Anko was even out on a mission, so he really had nowhere else to be on Christmas Eve - or day, for that matter. Honestly, as a relatively new 'desk shinobi' and teacher-in-training, he felt that the best Christmas present he could give himself was making sure that he didn't come back after the holiday to a mountain of unfinished paperwork.

He really didn't mind. In a way, the repetitive filing movements in total silence, aside from his singing, was peaceful and quelled any upset that he had nowhere and no one to be with on Christmas.

"...slee-eep in hea-" **BANG** "AH!"

He sincerely hoped that the noise the papers made as they scattered every which way was enough to cover up his startled, unmanly yelp. In his defense, he _did _immediately have his hand on a kunai, ready to defend himself and the tower.

But that proved hardly necessary.

A slumped-over, white-haired ninja with his hitai-ate tipped over his left eye was staring back at him in wide-eyed shock from the doorway. It only took a moment for the chuunin to recognize Kakashi Hatake. "K-Kakashi-san..."

Kakashi blinked. "I... didn't mean to startle you."

Iruka realized his hand was still in a defensive position and quickly tried to compose himself by relaxing his posture and attempting to nonchalantly gather his paperwork back together. But he was probably horribly betrayed by the dark red blush he could feel heating up his face. "No, no, it's fine. It's just... it's almost - midnight!?" He startled himself with the last part, having only just realized how late it was when his eyes landed on the clock.

Kakashi's eye tiredly drifted to said clock as well, and he scratched the back of his head. "Ah, yes... so it is... You see, I would have been here sooner, but I came upon a reindeer with a broken leg, and, figuring it might be Santa's, I had to take him to be treated and make sure he got on his way back to the North Pole."

Iruka's eyebrows rose. He had... no idea what to make of that...

So, he settled on polite tolerance. "Um... that's... fine, Kakashi-san... Uhh... usually missions that come in after normal hours are taken straight to the Hokage."

"The light was on."

Iruka blushed again and laughed awkwardly. "Heh - So it is. If you have your mission scroll, I'll take it." He held out his hand dutifully.

Kakashi approached slowly, looking dead tired and gently placed a _very _badly beaten up scroll into the outstretched palm. Iruka's eye twitched just slightly, but apparently Kakashi noticed, because he attempted to smile sheepishly behind his mask. "Sorry... I wasn't expecting the weather back here."

It was only then that the chuunin noticed that the other man was not just droopy from exhaustion but was literally soaking wet and weighed down. And, on the top of his white head, there were flakes that _almost _blended right in and hadn't quite melted yet. "It's snowing!?"

Kakashi looked at him in tired surprise. "Yeah? You haven't noticed?"

Iruka forgot himself and the unseemly mission report for a moment. "It never snows in Fire Country!" He sprang from his chair and ran to the window, excitedly pushing it open.

The copy-nin's eye followed him. "Maa... that's not entirely true..."

"Well, almost never." The younger man stuck his head out the window to peer at the snow-covered landscape that he had been unable to see from inside with the lights on. "Wow!" he marveled in childlike wonder at the thick blanket of powder as more continued to fall from the sky. "It's magical."

"Oh yeah, super magical crystalized, plummeting water. Astoundingly wet and wondrously freezing, especially when you're running full speed through it..." The sarcastic drawl brought the chuunin back to his senses, and he quickly retreated inside, slamming the window.

He felt, not only embarrassed, but a little... condescended to.

Then again, it _had _been rude of him to stop in the middle of accepting a mission report to go gape at the weather when the jounin had obviously had a long trip back and was clearly in desperate need of going home to warm up and rest.

He turned around to apologize and return to work, but when he spun around and spotted Kakashi leaning heavily against the desk on both outstretched arms, his mind switched into panic. "Kakashi-san, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

But he didn't sound fine, and he looked far from it as well. Iruka rushed to his side, placing a hand softly on his shoulder. "Have you been to the hospital yet?"

The silver-haired nin shook his head and pushed off the desk, wobbling a bit as he stood up straight, but he seemed determined to manage it. "I'll go right after this."

"Maybe I should take you there now."

Kakashi reached up and grabbed the hand on his shoulder as he turned toward the teacher. But whether he had intended to stubbornly remove it and argue, or he was totally onboard with that idea and grasping at him for support, Iruka never really knew, because the next moment his arms were full of unconscious, deadweight jounin.

* * *

The next day, Iruka found himself shifting from foot to awkward foot outside a bright hospital room door.

The nin at the front desk had looked surprised to see him on the holiday, but when he explained that he had been the one to bring Kakashi to seek medical attention the night before, she had nodded in understanding.

He felt the need to see for himself, though he knew the other man was alright. Sandaime himself had sent a summons, informing him that his comrade was fine and would simply be in need of a couple days' rest, as well as thanking Iruka for taking the fallen jounin to the hospital.

Which, Iruka mused, was a very silly thing for which to be thanked. What else was he supposed to have done with the unconscious copy-ninja?

He twiddled his thumbs only a moment longer and then knocked firmly, figuring he may as well get on with it before he lost the courage. A soft "come in" filtered through the door shortly after.

His eyes swept over the other man as he stepped through the door. Kakashi looked much better than he had when he'd dragged himself into the tower. He couldn't see much of his skin, and the jounin was pale anyway, but he still looked much brighter than he had the night before, rather than an ashy ghost. He definitely looked better rested, and his lone eye barely drooped as he returned the teacher's gaze. Iruka was only trying to assess his medical condition but suddenly blushed as he realized the other ninja was blinking curiously at his intense, and obvious, stare.

The teacher tried to school the heat off his face as he smiled brightly. "Merry Christmas, Kakashi-san. How are you feeling?"

Kakashi's eye curved into a gentle U. "Merry Christmas, Iruka-sensei. Much better than yesterday, thank you. They say I should be out of here by tomorrow."

"Good…" Iruka trailed off, scratching at the back of his head. It had seemed like a good idea to visit his superior in the hospital, but he wasn't entirely sure what he had planned to say beyond checking on his physical state and wishing him a happy holiday. Thankfully, Kakashi spoke again.

"I hear you were the one who brought me in last night. I'm afraid I don't remember much of it… so… thank you."

Iruka clasped his hands behind his back, trying to stop his fidgeting. "Ah, well… it wasn't that long ago that you did the same for me after a mission, Kakashi-san."

A thick silence fell over the room, nowhere left to go in the conversation between acquaintances. Which shouldn't have been surprising, considering the two men had only ever interacted briefly in purely work-related environments. The chuunin wondered if it had been silly for him to even come.

"Well…" the jounin broke through the tension once again. "I'm sure you have better places to be on Christmas, Iruka-sensei. Thank you for checking on me."

"Oh… not really…" Iruka fiddled with the side of his nose. He didn't elaborate, but he knew that Kakashi got the hint. Orphans of his age weren't exactly uncommon post-kyuubi attack. However, the jounin's words sounded like a dismissal to him, and he didn't want to take up anymore of the man's recovery time, so, he waited only a beat of silence more before he made to shift toward the door. "But I guess I'll…"

But Kakashi chimed in once more. "Sorry all your snow melted."

Iruka stopped. He noticed that Kakashi looked equally surprised at himself at the words that had come out of his mouth. There was nothing of the bitterness that he had displayed about the snow the night before. No mocking either, as far as Iruka could tell. The statement was a bit rushed with just the barest hint of… desperation? Did Kakashi not want him to go?

The jounin had shifted his eye to the window now, rigid in his posture, as though he were uncomfortable. The chuunin took only one more second to be shocked at the other man's implicit, if embarrassed, invitation to stick around and chat, before he decided to chuckle warmly. He saw the lean shoulders relax at the sound and felt distinctly good about earning the man's comfort. "It's ok. Miracles can't happen every day."

"Maa…" Kakashi teased. "What a bleak attitude to take on Christmas."

Iruka grinned and began recounting a story about the last time it had snowed for him – long ago, in his childhood. A story of snowball fights and ice walls and some strange little kid that he couldn't really remember all that well. Kakashi didn't interrupt, though his eye took on a strange look of familiarity and understanding that the schoolteacher chose to ignore in the back of his mind.

Barely realizing it, he settled into a chair bedside and lost track of time.

* * *

Only when an impatient medical nin poked his head in and told him visiting hours were over and they needed to check on Kakashi did Iruka realize he had spent most of the afternoon in the hospital room. He blushed as he realized the winter sun was indeed starting to set outside the window, marking the hours he'd been there. He had been caught up in listening to stories of the jounin's various missions to snow country and his challenges navigating the terrain and learning new weather-related jutsu, as well as telling his own silly stories about childhood Christmases past.

He stood quickly and apologized to the healer-nin, but he stopped short of extending the apology to Kakashi for taking his entire day. The other man hardly looked put-out, and in fact, seemed to be the most relaxed and jovial the chuunin had ever seen him in his brief dealings with the elite. His face only lost its soft edge when the medical staff started to swarm the bed, to his obvious displeasure. It was only after a rushed goodbye and another Merry Christmas, as he dodged the med-nins, that Iruka paused outside the room for a moment to realize that no one else had visited the entire time he'd been there.

He frowned. He wondered how many people even knew Kakashi was in the hospital yet, or if any of those people would care enough to take time out of their own holiday celebrations. He tried to shake the depressing thought away as he wandered outside.

"Oh, Iruka!"

The flabbergasted voice caught him off-guard, and he quickly tried to recover and bow as he realized he had nearly plowed into the Hokage himself as he exited the building. "Hokage-sama! So sorry!"

Sandaime composed himself quickly, though he couldn't keep all the wonderment off his face. "No need, Iruka. I was just on my way in to see Hatake, seeing as he's stuck in here on Christmas." He cocked his head just slightly. "Am I correct in assuming that is also where you were coming from?"

Iruka blushed heavily. "Ah, yes, Hokage-sama."

The eyes of the wise leader bore into him. "I was wondering where you were. I sent an invitation to Christmas dinner along with the message that he was alright…"

The chuunin's eyes darted to the side guiltily. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I'm so sorry. I had every intention of going. I just… got caught up…"

"I see…" Iruka did everything he could to ignore the question hanging silently in the air. "Well," the Hokage coughed once. "I suppose I should be grateful that two of my most notorious loners kept each company on the holiday."

Iruka simply accepted the fact that he didn't think his face would ever return to a normal color and prayed the leader would let it slide.

As a Christmas miracle, he did.

"Merry Christmas, Iruka."

Iruka bowed again. "Merry Christmas, Hokage-sama." He turned away from the twinkle he could see forming in the Hokage's eyes and took off for home.

The rapidly dwindling sky had descended into total blackness by the time he arrived at his door. The temperature had also dropped quickly, and the tan man shuddered as he searched for his keys.

He was just about to turn the lock when the first dot of wetness hit his cheek. He touched it in amazement, then turned his head to the sky just in time to be encompassed by the swirling white flakes.

Iruka closed his eyes and smiled as he relished in the icy droplets and the excited cries that began to rise up from nearby buildings and neighbors.

Despite the chill in the air, a glowing warmth filled his body and blocked out any discomfort. He didn't know if it was the abnormal weather, the company he had enjoyed that day, or simply the holiday becoming less painful over time, but a peaceful contentment filled his heart that he had not experienced on the holiday since his parents died.

He let the snow soak his hair a few more minutes, then softly turned the key and stepped inside, singing under his breath.

"Slee-eep in heeavenly… peeeace…"


	4. Secret Santa

4.

Kakashi watched from his tree perch as children filtered outside in a chaotic stream of screams and laughter. Several teachers moved among the chaos, shouting pointless orders after the students who no longer felt any loyalty to the academy – at least for a couple weeks until the winter break was over.

The ones who were far too seasoned to try to corral the rambunctious beasts at this point watched with weary faces from windows, waiting until they could officially bolt once every last child was out of the building. Kakashi didn't blame them.

However, in the large group of people eagerly awaiting their break from classes, he noticed that he didn't see a particular face. Actually, two particular faces.

He would have thought Naruto would be the first one out the door and into the wilderness of freedom, considering his general lack of regard for academics. But the blonde head hadn't appeared yet. He also failed to spot the kyuubi-boy's teacher. That one didn't surprise him_ as_ much. Iruka Umino-sensei was a known workaholic, and it wouldn't surprise him if the teacher was voluntarily tying himself up with paperwork or other duties instead of doing the normal, and sensible, thing and going home to rest over _vacation_.

Kakashi hummed a little to himself and stealthily leapt around the building to the tan man's classroom. He wasn't _spying_, per se – but he had been out of town on a mission for a couple months, and he liked to keep a sense of certain people's lives and whereabouts, Naruto being one of them. Iruka was just… incidental… being Naruto's ninja academy instructor and biggest daily influence and all… Yeah, that was the only reason he ever really interacted with him in the first place. To ensure Naruto's well-being… of course…

He relaxed and almost smiled when he caught sight of the two almost immediately through Iruka's classroom window. Naruto looked to be in a rather sour mood as he scrubbed the chalkboard until the blackboard shone as though it had never been written on. Iruka didn't look as though he was in much better spirits, sitting on a bench with both his arms and legs crossed and watching the young boy with pursed lips and an irritated glare.

"This is stupid!" Naruto yelled at the wall as he scrubbed.

Iruka merely continued to follow his movements with narrowed eyes.

"Why am I the only one who has to clean up at the end of the semester!?"

"_Because_…" Iruka began through gritted teeth, and then he seemed to explode in a fantastic display of lost patience. "YOU are the only one who thought it would be funny to pin exploding tags to your classmate's pants!"

Kakashi didn't hear the rest of the argument as he sprang away at Naruto's next high-pitched whine. He had seen enough, and it satisfied him.

He knew Naruto was getting exactly what he needed – an adult and authority figure who cared enough to be hard on him. Who cared enough to sit in an empty classroom at the start of winter break, probably as desperate to be home as anybody else, and make sure the kid received the discipline that he so desperately needed. Who cared enough to make himself the bad guy when an 8-year yelled snotty things in his direction.

Of course, Sandaime cared, but he could only do so much, being the Hokage with many other important matters to attend to. And Kakashi cared, in as much as he felt an obligation to care for his old master's progeny. But he was an elite jounin with a far more complicated life to live that did not involve getting super emotionally invested in a child.

He hadn't been able to help himself, however, when he found out that the kid had entered the academy. He knew the hokage would never tell anyone about his input as to who Naruto's teacher should be. He had had a feeling that he was making the right decision, but decided that Iruka needed a push in the right direction after observing his initial trials in dealing with the outcast. He was relieved to see that his 'spontaneous' conversations with the chuunin had resulted in the type of relationship that Naruto needed from an adult, seeing as Kakashi couldn't give it to him himself.

The jounin leaned against a tree and stuffed his hands in his pockets wistfully

He _had_ been right about Iruka. Sandaime told him so – while admiring the fact that Kakashi felt so strongly about it that he had felt the need to chime in, even though the hokage had already decided on such matters before the copy-ninja decided to pop up in his office. Kakashi had used all his ninja wiles to pretend that he had no idea what his leader was talking about, couldn't hear him anyway, and he most certainly did _not _pick up on any sort of implications in the expression the old man gave him…

The silver head tilted upward thoughtfully.

Then he disappeared in a poof, eager to get home as he only had so much time to prepare for the plan that he had just thought up.

* * *

_The Next Evening_

Iruka let out an admittedly overdramatic sigh as he sank into his couch. He had been more ready than anyone at the academy to begin his winter break. Handling Naruto plus the rest of his class as a newly minted teacher was one hell of a way to kick off his first real semester of full-fledged teaching. The kid had caused so much trouble that he had kept them both back after everyone else left AND tracked him down the next morning for special one-on-one training.

He flipped his brown ponytail out of his face. He had to act like it was punishment to avoid any blatant displays of favoritism, but Iruka would be lying to himself if he didn't privately admit that he had wanted an excuse to run Naruto through a few drills, one-on-one, without the pressure of the rest of the classroom watching and snickering. He knew the rambunctious boy had potential. He just had to focus. And sometimes the only way to achieve that was to turn outside-hours training into a specialized 'punishment.'

He had lasted as long as he could before stopping the whining by inviting Naruto to Christmas Eve ramen. The chuunin smiled as he remembered the pouting turning into a joyous victory cry.

Good thing he didn't have many people to buy gifts for on Christmas, he mused to himself, imagining his very empty wallet now. But having another person to spend time with around the holiday season was worth the extra price of a couple (or more) bowls of ramen.

He ran a hand over his face and contemplated the rest of his real break. He'd probably pay Naruto a visit on Christmas, even if the young boy would be too proud to spend the whole day with him – yet. He remembered being around his age and parent-less, and the pride he took in taking care of himself, especially around the holidays. But he also remembered the crushing loneliness and the silent gratitude he felt for all those who at least stopped by for a visit. He was pretty sure that, over time, he could convince the orphan boy to join him for most of the day instead of wallowing in his forced independence.

Other than that, he was looking at a lot of grading and lesson planning. Hopefully some extra training for himself, since his personal time had been lacking since classes had been in session.

A small smile pulled at his lips as he thought of his rather boring vacation to-do list. He said the same thing every year – that the weeks surrounding the Christmas and New Year holidays would be relaxing or devoted to catching up on work or around the house. But he knew Anko, Genma, and some of his fellow chuunin would probably see to it that he accomplished none of these things. To them, the holidays were a time for immense 'revelry' (aka: drinking) if they weren't out on missions. And for some reason, they seemed to always think that Iruka needed to be a part of it as well.

He chuckled and stretched, hopping up from the couch. Well, at least for the evening, no one was bothering him. He could make a nice cup of tea and enjoy the silence after the many months of getting children's screams and whines stuck in his head.

He had just made it to the kitchen doorway when he heard a loud thump against his front door. The chuunin jumped a little at the strange sound and froze in his step, staring at the door in wonder. He waited a beat, but nothing else came of the noise. No one knocked and he didn't sense anyone outside. No animal noises or noisy wind wafted through the air…

He frowned. He wasn't crazy. Something _had_ hit his door.

He inched toward it slowly, his shinobi senses on high alert, and he placed a hand lightly on the hidden kunai at his side for good measure. He still sensed nothing, but he knew that sometimes, that could be the most dangerous situation.

He stood at the side of the doorway and eased it open slowly, peering through the crack. Nothing was out there, as far as he could see. As it inched open just a little more, his eyes finally caught the corner of what looked like brown paper. He pushed the door open enough to see the entire outside and gazed down at the lumpy package that was sitting at his doorstep.

Iruka raised one eyebrow and peered around the area again, though he knew he wouldn't see anyone. He hadn't been expecting anything. And the wrapping looked far from official…

He took the kunai from his side, bent down just slightly, and poked at the lump. When nothing happened, he gave it a few more jabs, and then finally stood square with it. Nothing seemed suspicious about it, aside from not knowing where it came from. Honestly, he was starting to suspect that it had been wrapped by a child and wondered if it was a gift from one of his students.

Though it could also be a prank, disguised as a gift, from one of his students, he thought just as likely…

But the teacher couldn't stand and stare at it forever. So, he made his decision and snatched up the package, taking it inside and closing the door quickly. If it _did _blow up in his face, he wouldn't give his attacker the satisfaction of seeing.

He set it on his coffee table and eyed it warily from the couch. There was no card, no tags, no writing on it whatsoever to indicate where it had come from. Just a plain, brown, misshapenly-wrapped package.

Iruka finally sighed and flicked his kunai out. He may as well get it over with if he was going to unwrap it. He sliced it open with ninja ease and tensed backward just in case.

But nothing happened.

He was staring at a mish-mash of white paper and bubble-wrap, but couldn't make out what was in the center of it, though it looked colorful. So he carefully set about picking it apart with his kunai and fingers, still not 100% sure that it wouldn't explode or try to bite him suddenly.

But as the paper and tape gave way, he let out a soft gasp of surprise. It was a mug – bright orange, which caused him to raise his eyebrows a bit – but when he turned it around, it had "World's Best Teacher" scrawled across it. He felt awkward holding such a cliché knick-knack and barked out an incredulous laugh. Something stuck out the top, so he pulled it out and flipped it over…

The brown eyes went wide and then softened in wonder. It was a picture – of him and Naruto. They were at the ramen stand – the picture had been taken from behind them, but they were both turned to face each other in that moment. He cradled the photograph gently as he looked. They were both smiling, wide, garrulous smiles. Naruto's grin a bit wider and crazier, Iruka's soft and reassuring. He furrowed his brow, even as he continued to enjoy the gift. Neither looked as though they knew the picture was being taken. Who on earth could have sent it?

The teacher flipped it over but found no writing. He set everything down and tore through the rest of the paper, looking for some sort of clue as to who had sent the gift. But he came up blank. He scratched his head and studied the gifts again. The orange mug would suggest Naruto himself, though he didn't know why the boy wouldn't give him the gifts directly.

Iruka shrugged and picked up the mug and picture, carrying them to the kitchen. He placed the mug directly next to his teapot and found a magnet to pin the picture to the top of his fridge.

* * *

On Christmas, he appeared at Naruto's door mid-afternoon, taking pity on the boy and allowing him the chance to sleep in for at least one day during his break. He held out the gift bag that contained a sickening amount of Cup Noodles and sweets, but the cry of joy was worth it when Naruto emptied the contents onto his kitchen table.

Iruka insisted on reciting his lecture that this wasn't an excuse to eat poorly, and that he had only bought him such things because they were cheap and he already spent enough money on feeding him anyway – but he knew it mostly fell on deaf ears and that most of the non-nutritional food would be gone before break was over. But he didn't honestly care. He was just happy that his gift had been received well, and at least the kid would eat _something_ while he wasn't in school. He had purposely picked ones with vegetables in them at least.

Naruto suddenly frowned and appeared to be thinking very hard.

Iruka blinked. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at him with forlorn eyes. "Well, I didn't get anything for you for Christmas, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka was taken-aback. He hadn't brought up the gifts out of politeness, but he wondered if Naruto was really telling the truth… "You didn't?" he insisted.

Naruto shook his head sadly. "But I can! I mean, I don't have a lot of money right now, but after the first of the year –"

"Naruto! Naruto…" Iruka held his hands placatingly in the air and smiled. "It's not a big deal. You don't _have _to get me anything."

"But - !"

"Just enjoy your ramen, silly."

Naruto huffed and looked like he was back to thinking very, very hard… He finally nodded and went back to organizing his loot.

Iruka snorted. Weird kid… But he seemed pretty genuine… The mug and picture were probably not from him…

He whipped his head to the window as a prickle went down his spine. Nothing was there, and nothing seemed out of place, but the feeling of being watched still hung over him. He squinted his eyes a moment longer.

Naruto finally noticed. "What's wrong, sensei?"

Iruka did one more visual sweep of the window and outside before reluctantly turning back. "Nothing… Just thought I felt something."

Naruto looked at the window. "I don't see anything."

Iruka scratched the back of his neck where it still tingled. "Must have been my imagination."


	5. Doggy Treats

5.

Iruka tried to smile, but Suzume's withering stare made it hard to maintain his composure. His lips twitched awkwardly, and he shuffled one foot. But even though his hands wanted to tremble, he kept them out in front of him, braving the judgmental sneer.

"Are those the only ones you have?"

"Yes."

They resumed their stand-off for another several seconds before Suzume forced an overdramatic sigh through her nose. Iruka could almost see the steam. "Just put them on the table behind you."

Iruka watched her stalk off and glared at her back, barely resisting the childish urge to stick his tongue out at her. He turned to the long table behind him, glancing down at the plate of cookies in his hands.

Little Santas, trees, stars, and reindeer stared back up at him through the almost-blackness. He frowned as he placed the platter down and tried rearranging them as though it would make them look any better.

He had tried – really. He'd been volunteered to bake some cookies for their annual parent/teacher Christmas pitch-in. He'd actually been excited to cut out the adorable shapes and share them with his fellow coworkers and students' parents.

It wasn't that he was incompetent in the kitchen… He had just… gotten distracted grading papers, trying to keep ahead of the holiday workload, and the time had slipped away from him.

Now, he could admit that if he'd been a responsible adult and simply tried making the cookies the night before, he would have had plenty of time to try again. But he'd been busy… and maybe kinda sorta forgot until the last minute. He had tried to tell himself it would be better if he showed up with them hot out of the oven anyway. But this wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind…

He brushed some of the charred crumbs off the plate and tried to reason in his head that they weren't _that _bad. Just a little crispy around the edges.

He propped the largest (and least burnt) Santa cookie up in the front of the pile and nodded. It would have to do. Everyone loved cookies, right?

* * *

"Everybody, make sure to take your… _leftovers._"

Iruka rolled his eyes as he wasn't facing the owner of the pointed voice, but he slunk back to his full platter of burnt cookies and grabbed the cover. Santa still grinned up at him, completely unmoved. His shoulders slumped as he cleaned up his little parcel of table, not unaware that the other participants around him were snatching up empty plates and tins with ease.

He'd watched the other festive confections gobbled up with excitement, while the most polite reaction he'd seen as people approached his contribution were simple raised eyebrows and then skipping it as though it didn't exist as they made their way down the line. Others hadn't been quite so subtle. Even though he'd fight the pompous Suzume until the day he died over whether or not his cookies were up to snuff, he had made a very conscious effort to stay as far away from the food table as possible, and avoid any topic of the snacks unless it was to compliment someone else.

He dodged his fellow teachers as he slipped out the door, just wanting to get away from it all. He breathed in deeply and sighed just as loudly as he took the first steps into the open air. It wasn't cold, but the breeze was a little nippy for Fire Country, and he could see the sun starting to set early in the western sky. It was beginning to feel like Christmas.

The chuunin set an easy pace for home, not concerned with getting there as quickly as ninja-ly possible. Now that school was out for the holiday, and their last event of the year wrapped up, he had nothing much waiting for him at home except more paperwork. Naruto would come for Christmas this year, but he still had a couple days to go.

He decided to take the long way home and meander among the trees and past a few of the more secluded training fields. Even if the village's trees didn't lose their leaves like other climates, some of the deeper ones in the woods still took on golden hues this time of year, and the evening sun always made for a pretty walk.

He was a little surprised when he made his way up to the opening to a training field and heard quite the commotion, though it didn't sound like human shouting. He peeked his head just around the trees and was pleasantly surprised to find a field full of nin-dogs. They could have been training, but many of them also looked like they were just playing and rough-housing. The teacher paused to take in the scene with delight. It wasn't every day one got to stumble upon a group of killer-trained pups playing and running with shinobi speed.

So entranced he was in the furry creatures that he failed momentarily to remember who exactly the nin-dogs in the village belonged to…

Iruka _did _remember, after watching them for almost a full minute, and he flushed as his eyes darted around the field, hoping their master hadn't spotted his intrusion. He knew, because of administrative paperwork, who the ninken served, if the tiny henohenomoheji on their backs wasn't enough of a giveaway, though he had never seen them in action before.

He didn't see the man in question, and took a step backward, trying to ease himself away from the clearing and continue down his path before the other shinobi returned.

His steps ended abruptly when he backed right into a solid chest.

"Something I can help you with, sensei?"

Iruka spun, muscles tensed, the embarrassment clear on his face. He tried to ignore the way he saw the end of his ponytail tick the masked nose as he whipped around, but he knew Kakashi was just being polite in not flinching away. "OH! Uh… Sorry!" he spluttered out with all the grace of one of his students.

The one gray eye simply blinked at him. "For what?"

Iruka blushed further and attempted an apologetic bow. "I didn't mean to intrude on your training space." He straightened up with every intention of fleeing but froze as a felt a cold nose press into his leg through his pants, and he became aware that he was quite surrounded.

Kakashi remained slouched in the center of the circle his pack had made around them, not looking at all perturbed. The dogs weren't intentionally being threatening in any way, but they certainly weren't rolling over and showing their bellies... Despite the jounin's outward display of nonchalance, Iruka had never felt so threatened by a display of power in his life, and he paled under the 9 stares.

"Maa…" Kakashi broke the silence. "No apology necessary, Iruka-sensei. You didn't interrupt much. Just out for some fresh air."

Iruka nodded, trying hard not to look intimidated by the warm canine breath he could feel on his skin from all directions. "Well, I'll just be – " He almost tripped and barely caught himself as he turned to go and found the smallest, tan dog had gotten directly under him without him noticing.

He froze as the little one put his two front paws on his pants and sniffed the air around him dramatically. The other dogs were now leaning forward intently.

He shot his eyes to Kakashi. "Uhh…."

The other man's shoulders slumped as he eyed the chuunin with an exasperated look. Iruka was deeply confused. "Alright guys…" the jounin began, but excited yipping from the dog on his leg shattered the tension and the teacher suddenly found all eight dogs in _very _close proximity to him, lines of hungry drool starting to seep out of their mouths.

"U-u-uhhmmm… Kakashi!?" Iruka squeaked.

A deafening bark from the largest of the pack had him cowering in on himself, and he was sure this was how it was all going to end, until a piercing whistle cut through the commotion. He winced, but when he opened his eyes, the dogs were silent, though still circling him expectantly. He chanced a glance at Kakashi's face, still not understanding the look his colleague was giving him.

Kakashi cleared his throat and gestured at the teacher. "Iruka-sensei…" Iruka merely stared in adorable confusion. The copy-nin sighed. "You have food."

Iruka blinked. Then blinked again. Finally, slowly, his head turned down to his hands, which were white-knuckling his platter at that point. "Oh…"

Kakashi shot a look at his pack. "Which is _not _for th-"

"What is it!?" The little one that had initiated contact squealed at his feet.

"_Bisuke!" _

The tiny dog hunched back into place submissively, but Iruka's eyes went wide with barely contained glee. Forgetting all about his previous moments of terror, he crouched down, gaping at the dog. "You _talk_?"

The tan dog began to wag his tail when a gruff voice huffed above him "Well, of course we talk." He peered up at the little pug sitting atop the largest dog. He knew the grumpy ninken sounded offended, but he couldn't stop the smile of wonderment. He knew that most ninken, theoretically, could, but the only other ninja-trained dogs he had ever interacted with came from the Inuzuka clan. And those dogs, while possessing enormous power in their own right, did not speak. He had never heard a dog talk before.

"What are your names?" he blurted, looking around at the rest of the pack, who all seemed thrilled now at the attention.

The pug sighed and flopped his head down, but the tan dog responded first. "Bisuke!" he announced proudly.

The other dogs chimed in, sitting up straight and proper as each announced their name to the amazed teacher. When it came to the last two, the pug glanced back at Kakashi, who Iruka was no longer paying any attention to, and, seemingly satisfied with what he saw in his master, responded politely, "Pakkun. And this is Bull." The big dog let out another thunderous 'woof' and Iruka simply laughed with delight this time.

"What food do you have?"

The dogs leaned forward again, and Iruka chuckled nervously, but with more embarrassment than fear this time. "Oh, um… they're just leftovers from the academy Christmas party."

A dog with eyes that looked ferociously angry leaned forward into his face. "Leftovers?" he drawled suggestively.

Iruka clutched the platter a little tighter at the implication. "Oh, uh, trust me, they're not that good."

But the top clattered to his feet, and he couldn't react in time, as the top Santa cookie was snatched by the big bulldog's mouth as soon as the pug was done swiping the cover to the ground.

"_PAKKUN!"_

Iruka finally shot his eyes back up to the forgotten jounin and was surprised to see a horrified expression making its way through his masked face, and the exposed part of his cheek was completely red with embarrassment. Apparently, dogs weren't always perfect listeners, no matter who their master was – nor ninja companion, or not… He mentally chuckled at the thought.

But the momentary silence was shattered with an enthusiastic bark from the mammoth dog, and he blinked in surprise at what looked like a pleased look on his face. Pakkun smirked at him. "He loves it."

"O-oh-uhm… really?" Iruka looked down at his burned creations incredulously.

"So, since they're _leftovers –"_

The tiny pug was suddenly suspended in the air by a large gloved hand. "That is quite enough." The brisk tone brought all the dogs behind their master, sitting obediently, before Iruka could blink. Kakashi looked, and sounded, like he was done playing. He closed his eye, trying to compose himself. "I apologize, Iruka-sensei. I –"

"Oh! No!" Iruka blurted, jumping up. Kakashi paused, still appearing mortified, but the chuunin immediately laughed it off with a wide smile. "If they like them, they can have them!"

Kakashi looked seriously surprised, the little pug still dangling from one hand. When no response came quickly enough, Iruka emphasized his point by holding out the platter.

"Please!" he urged.

The dogs all peered at the copy-nin. He scratched his neck awkwardly. "You don't have to give in to them, Iruka-sensei…" he muttered.

Iruka laughed shortly. "No one else will be eating them, I assure you. I want to give them to them! As a Christmas treat…"

Kakashi studied him for a few seconds, but the teacher kept his face eager and honest. The other man finally sighed under the literal puppy-dog looks, and, resigned, placed Pakkun back on Bull's head. "Fine."

Iruka gave a startled whoop as he found himself on his butt, eight eager tongues lapping up everything in his hands. It didn't take long for the entire plate to be empty of everything, including the black crumbs. He stood slowly, reveling in the sound of the dogs licking their lips with satisfaction. "I'm glad _someone _likes them," he laughed softly while placing the top back on the clean platter.

He shifted his eyes to the other shinobi now and felt his stomach clench at the intense look. He had expected the other man to be surveying his dogs but instead, found the lone gray eye trained directly on him. The look was soft and appreciative, but it still seared into him with an intensity that felt as though it could knock him on his butt again. He subconsciously reached back and rubbed his neck as it started to tingle. He cleared his throat and attempted a normal, polite, Iruka-sensei smile. "Well, I guess I'll really be going now, Kakashi-san. Thank you for letting me talk to your ninken."

Kakashi seemed to snap out of his reverie, and now his eye curved into a happy U. "No… thank _you _for your generosity, Iruka-sensei."

"Heh – honestly, it was nothing." Iruka patted one of the dogs absently on the head, not aware in the moment how insulting that might be to a nin-dog. The ninken, in turn, happily let it slide as he continued to chew his last treat. The chuunin backed away toward the path now, a light, happy flush covering his cheeks. He didn't know why, but he felt fidgety now, not able to meet his eyes to the other man's. It was almost dark now, so he decided to disappear into the night. "A Merry Christmas to you all."

The last thing he saw before he darted into the trees was Kakashi saluting with a lazy hand. "Merry Christmas."


	6. A Team 7 Christmas

6.

Iruka heard the approaching commotion before he could even see the instigators coming into view from his kitchen window. He sighed and tried to focus on stirring the pot in front of him, figuring there was nothing he could do but wait for the fighting to reach his front door.

He had thought it would be a good idea to invite all of Team 7 for Christmas this year. Naruto usually showed up in the morning anyway, and of course, Sasuke no longer had a family of his own to spend the holiday with. Sakura did, but he figured an offer to the entire team was fitting, even if the girl could only show up for a short visit. It would be good for their team rapport to spend the holiday together, instead of their only interactions being missions and training.

At least… that's what he had argued to himself…

As he heard the crunch of a destroyed tree echo in the distance, accompanied with Naruto's unmistakable wail, he was beginning to doubt himself.

As the bickering got closer, he marched to the front door and swung it open pre-emptively. The last thing he needed was one of the 12-year old boys to go flying through the closed wood.

He walked back to the kitchen and closed his eyes, trying to ward off the headache before it started. It would be a long day if he let the pre-teen testosterone get to him already.

The teacher had barely taken a good deep breath before the crash from his living room had him spinning around. He thanked the gods and himself for opening the door as the orange mess that had taken down his tree would have surely gone straight through it. "NARUTO!"

The blonde boy flailed, trying to disentangle himself from the mess of lights and ornaments. Iruka gaped in dismay.

"I worked so hard on that tree…"

Naruto bounced up, still tripping over wires and hooks. "It's not my fault!" he tried to insist. An accusatory finger pointed to the open doorway. "Sasuke threw me into it!"

The raven-haired boy stood in the door, spine straight and eyes wide as he took in the damage. Then he began to grit his teeth in his teammate's direction. "I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't tried to lunge at my head! It was a deflective maneuver, idiot!"

Naruto tripped and snapped yet another ornament, making Iruka flinch with helplessness. "I'm not an idiot!"

Sasuke ignored him and tried to turn apologetically to his old teacher. "Iruka-sensei… I'm…"

"WAAAAAH!" The Uchiha was cut off as the kyuubi-boy rushed him again and the pair went flying over the second story balcony.

Iruka took one more morose look at his poor, trampled tree, and then ran outside to make sure they hadn't done any more damage to the outside of the building or his neighbor's homes. He found the teammates rolling on the ground, grappling with each other – currently out of reach of damaging his building further, but who knew how long that was going to last? He was just about to vault over the balcony and put a stop to it when a loud, gruff voice beat him to it.

With a poof of smoke, the young men were separated forcefully. "Can you two NOT do this on Christmas morning?"

Everyone froze as Kakashi's tall form came into focus between them, a deadly aura surrounding him.

"Iruka-sensei has worked VERY hard to make this a nice team experience for you. Show some _respect_!"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!"

Iruka blushed as Kakashi tilted his head up to him now, looking very proud at the chorus of obedience.

For all their years of random run-ins and occasional conversations in the mission room and about the three students, Iruka still didn't know the elite jounin all that well. Sometimes it seemed as though they could chat for hours; other times, the chuunin felt completely flustered around the other man's short answers and intense stare. But he had felt it only right to invite the leader of Team 7 along with the rest of the group. He had honestly felt a little nervous doing so, not sure if it would be offensive to imply that the jounin had nowhere else to be on Christmas. But here he was...

Iruka scratched lightly at his nose, giving his own small, grateful smile, and turned to saunter back inside as the trio made their way upstairs. The brunette placed his hands on his hips and sighed once more as he took in the broken mess of branches, ornaments, and lights. It was a good thing he hadn't had a Christmas tree in years and didn't own any particularly expensive or sentimental trinkets for it.

He shoved at the wayward pieces to at least get them out of the general walking path as the two young boys busted back through the doorway behind him, Sasuke walking with haughty purpose to get away from his nemesis, and Naruto grumbling under his breath behind him, clearly determined not to let him get far from his sights. "Go check on the food," he snapped at the blonde's back and was pleased when both boys scampered into the kitchen at the command.

"I'm sure it was a lovely tree."

Iruka spun at the compliment and flushed again at Kakashi's apologetic smile. "It was," he sighed dramatically. "But I should have known better than to try to have anything nice around those two." He rolled his eyes as he heard quiet snark from the direction of the kitchen, the two genin not able to give up their fighting, even now. "Silly me for thinking that Christmas spirit might calm the fighting for one day."

Kakashi chuckled. "It was a nice thought," he reassured as he deftly flung the dull end of two kunai through the entryway to the kitchen without looking. The two distinct 'thuds' and muffled curses confirmed that they hit their mark. The bickering stopped... momentarily.

Iruka stifled a snort. "I guess I should clean it up before someone decides to use any broken pieces as weapons."

The jounin stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'll do it." Iruka was about to protest but was firmly steered toward the kitchen and out of the living room. "I insist. It's my students' fault there's a mess to clean up in the first place."

Iruka shot his arms out to grip the sides of the doorway and brought himself to a harsh stop against the jounin's pushing. He quirked a suspicious eyebrow at the older man. Kakashi blinked at the accusatory look.

"What?"

"I don't know..." Iruka leaned a little closer and Kakashi leaned back, looking worried. "Just trying to decide what's gotten into _you_ today."

Kakashi looked offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Offering to clean... Arriving here at the same time as your students..." Iruka may not have known Kakashi well on a personal level, but he knew as much as anyone in the village about the man's notorious quirks - especially his lack of punctuality. He had had the occasional heated word with him himself when the jounin insisted on showing up right at the end of the day with his mission report... that was due the day before.

But Kakashi continued to pretend as though he had no concept of his own bad habits. "And?"

"Something isn't right here..."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck and tried to look off to the side nonchalantly. "What? I can't get into the Christmas spirit myself? Act grateful? Be a responsible adult that shows up to engagements on time?"

Iruka's eyes widened, and he looked thoroughly disturbed. A crash from behind him broke him from his scrutiny though, and he rushed into the kitchen fully, leaving the strangely-behaving jounin on his own.

He scruffed Naruto this time, pulling him off the Uchiha boy's back as though he were an angry, feral cat. "WHAT is your issue today?"

Naruto let out a very audible huff and crossed his arms. "_Nothing_," he emphasized, all the weight of 12-year-old sarcasm behind the one word.

Iruka swore that one day, the kid was going to make him roll his eyeballs so far back into his head that they'd get stuck. He dropped him to the floor on the other side of him, away from Sasuke. The Uchiha boy was silent as he straightened himself out but gave off his own distinct aura of sass as he glared across the kitchen at his teammate. Naruto sneered back.

The teacher ran a hand through his hair and tried to reign in his own attitude to act as the adult mediator that he was supposed to be. "You two, I swear…" Both boys had their arms crossed now, looking away. "It's Christmas," he tried to continue firmly. But his grand plans for the day seemed stupid and faraway now as he glanced back and forth between the angry faces. His will to lecture, normally robust, was deflating quickly like a leaky balloon. "Can we just…" he trailed off and tried to think of a reasonable outcome for the holiday. Two defiant faces waited with a mild curiosity that couldn't completely obscure their hatred for one another.

He finally sighed and decided on only one thing: "… make it through the day?" he finished lamely.

The two boys made twin sounds of equal parts assent mixed with lingering discontent, but Iruka decided he'd take what he could get.

His next plan was to separate them as much as possible. "Sasuke, please go help Kakashi-sensei clean up the mess in the living room." The raven-haired boy slipped out in a flash, probably grateful for a task to get away from his teammate. "Naruto, you stay with me and help me prepare the foo –" The teacher froze as he turned to the counter and laid eyes on the desserts that had been cooling for later. Something was wrong…

His sharp, brown eyes raked over the rack sitting on the end of the counter closest to the window. He counted the chocolate balls quickly and silently in his head. He snapped his head to the blonde boy. "Did you eat one of these?" he demanded.

Naruto's hands flew up in self-defense. "No!" he insisted in a high-pitched, and offended, squeal.

Iruka's eyes narrowed. Normally, he had a hard time believing Naruto about anything, but he _had_ spent his short time in the kitchen thus far fighting Sasuke, so who knew? He glared down at the treats again, his brain working overtime trying to figure out if he was right or crazy. Finally, he shook his head once and turned back to the boy. Maybe he had miscounted…

"Grab the good plates from the cabinet and start taking the cheese and vegetables in the fridge out to the living room," he ordered.

Naruto snorted, even as he did as he was told. "The 'good plates?'" he mocked. "Who are you trying to impress today, sensei?"

Iruka flamed red. "_Naruto_," he growled, and left the threat at that, confident that his ex-student knew exactly what it meant.

Nothing more was said, and Iruka returned to the pot on the stove, checking it with a few thick stirs and turning down the heat. When he turned to move things down on the counter to make more space, he froze again. His eyes narrowed at the cooling rack containing nut and berry clusters. He swore there was a blank space…

His eyes trailed to the doorway where Naruto had just left, but he knew he probably couldn't blame the boy. Naruto had always been very vocal about how the treats were his least favorite Christmas concoction that Iruka made, because they were 'too healthy.' A sharp prickle went down his neck and he frowned while he scratched at it.

Not knowing what else to do, he followed Naruto to the living room to see how things were going. His eyes widened at the sight.

The floor was completely clean from the debris of the earlier spat. And the bottom half of the tree that had been demolished was nowhere to be seen, impressing him with how quickly they had managed to dispose of it. But what was really interesting was the mini 'tree' in its place, the jounin having decided to salvage the top half of it. He was currently standing over his student, forcefully directing him how to re-string the lights on the pint-sized tree with the same tone he would use to order him around on a mission. And Sasuke was crawling around, following said orders with a highly irritated scowl on his face. It didn't help when he caught Naruto smirking at him.

"Having fun with the shiny lights, Sasuke?" Nartuo taunted.

"Shut up, scullery maid," Sasuke growled back.

Naruto plopped his platter down on the coffee table with a pout.

"Wow, look at that," Iruka interjected, trying to project enthusiasm over the tension. Both of the boys ignored the attempt at excitement, but they at least stopped their bickering, Naruto turning back to the kitchen.

Kakashi, however, peered over his shoulder to grin at the sensei happily. Iruka felt his cheeks warm slightly. He tried to smile back but felt suddenly awkward. No words were spoken, and he decided to quickly return to the kitchen after the blonde boy.

Naruto was digging the last of the vegetables out of the fridge, grumbling under his breath the entire time about how no one wanted vegetables on Christmas day. But Iruka stopped before the lecture could spring from his mouth as he noticed a big blank spot on the cookie rack. "Naruto," he began, his temper rising. He was positive he was NOT crazy this time. "Have you been stealing treats?"

Naruto's head popped out of the fridge defiantly. "NO!" he cried. "I already told you!"

Iruka glared at the bare, cookie-less spot, then at the genin. Naruto withered under the stare. "Let me smell your breath."

"What!? No! Weirdo!"

"Naruto!" Iruka advanced on him.

"I didn't do it!"

He didn't believe him. "Those are _desserts_!"

"I know that!" Naruto insisted, his already loud voice growing louder with every defense. "You literally knocked me out last year when I picked a corner off a cookie before dinner! I wouldn't touch them!"

Iruka glowered at him, not convinced. "Go. Get out of my kitchen." He pointed sternly to the doorway, seething with rage.

Naruto flung the half-full plate onto the table before stalking out. "Don't have to tell me twice," he snapped, happy to be done with his chore.

Iruka glared after him. Honestly, he didn't know what to do with the kid…

But then his spine tingled…

He whipped around with shinobi speed that he often reserved for catching misbehaving students in class, and his mouth fell open.

Kakashi was perched in his kitchen window, leaning across the small table, his hand caught in the act of picking up another chocolate ball.

The two shinobi stared at each other in shock for a moment. Iruka's mouth opened and closed a few times.

But... he had just _seen_ Kakashi in the living room, ordering Sasuke around… The wheels spun in his head. And while they were, the jounin slowly lifted the stolen candy up to his mask… and plopped it down the front of it, letting it roll into his mouth. Iruka's eyebrow twitched. "KAKASHI!"

The jounin disappeared, leaving only an open window. Iruka tore into the living room, met with both his students' shocked and confused eyes at his yell and manic behavior. The Kakashi by the tree looked back and grinned at him once more… before poofing out of existence. Sasuke flinched and furrowed his eyebrows. Iruka grit his teeth. "Shadow clone…" he ground out, all the pieces falling into place and making too much sense that Iruka was ashamed he hadn't seen it before. "Naruto!" he barked.

The blonde boy hopped up from his spot where he had been slouching on the couch.

"Find him!" Iruka commanded, flinging open the door.

Naruto saluted and sped out the door. Iruka feinted, pretending to go with him; then, with lightning speed, pivoted back to the kitchen instead and flung a kunai straight through the doorway and into the wall. He leered as he saw that it hit his target.

Kakashi stared wide-eyed at his pinned sleeve, the cookie he had been snatching dangling helplessly from his hand.

"_What_ are you _doing_!?" he demanded hotly, storming up to the other man, features blazing.

Kakashi tried to smile charmingly, cocking his head to the side. "Maa, sensei… Naruto said such great things about your cooking, I couldn't wait all day…"

"Those are for _after _dinner!" Iruka contested, hands shaking on his hips as he tried to find his best scary teacher voice. It wasn't difficult, seeing as how he'd had enough experience in both the classroom and mission room at this point to know that jounin were nothing more than big children with more advanced weapons skills.

"But I'm sooo hungry," Kakashi drawled pitifully, trying to make a puppy-dog eye.

"We have appetizers!

"…Who wants vegetables on Christmas day?"

Iruka swung. He hadn't really expected to make contact but was still perturbed when the jounin vanished before his eyes, his kunai clattering to the counter. The cookie had escaped as well.

"Such violence, sensei."

Iruka spun at the drawl behind him. Kakashi was leaning in the doorway lazily, visibly chewing beneath his mask.

"Shouldn't we be setting a better example for the kids and just try to make it through the day?"

This time, the chuunin made contact, probably pure luck from surprising the jounin with his brazen attack. He surprised himself; all of his reserves around the older man had flown out the window more quickly than he had imagined. The tan foot found the taut stomach, relishing in the cough and hack that it produced from the greedy jounin as he flew across the room. The remaining half of the tree never stood a chance.

* * *

By the time Sakura arrived in the early evening, she very confusedly entered a living room full of sulking men nursing various injuries; though they had apparently managed to get to the point of eating dinner, their dirty plates scattered around them. She frowned at the mess and obvious aftermath of violence but tried to be more chipper when she held out her arms to her former academy sensei. "I brought gifts!"

Iruka smiled back and pointed to the corner of the room. "You can put them with the others under the tree for now, Sakura, thank you."

The pink-haired girl froze as she turned to said tree. It was barely a stick with a few green twigs sticking out of it. There was a garish amount of lights wrapped around it as though in an attempt to pretend it was still a fully-functioning Christmas tree. "Umm… what happened to – "

"Don't ask."

She nodded and carefully placed her own packages and bags beside the other squashed boxes around the pitiful top quarter of what was, theoretically, at one time, a tree. She held on to one bag though and turned to Kakashi with wide, hopeful eyes. "Kakashi-sensei," she began excitedly.

"Hmm?" Kakashi peered at her.

She flushed lightly as she wrung her hands around the handle of the bag. "I was hoping, maybe, that you could summon your nin-dogs today?" she babbled out quickly. "I have something for them. For their help on our mission to Mist."

Kakashi looked surprised but not displeased. He scratched the side of his face. "Well, I suppose I could. But 8 dogs is a lot for an apartment…"

But Iruka had already jumped up from his spot on the couch. "Go ahead and summon them, Kakashi-sensei," he insisted evenly, all trace of his previous displeasure with the jounin seemingly gone. "I have something for them as well." He disappeared around the corner to the kitchen.

Kakashi blinked. "Okay…" With more flourish than was actually necessary since his students were watching, the jounin summoned his pack and took pride in the way all their faces went wide with wonder as all 8 appeared in the small space, making them look even more intimidating than they already were.

But Sakura quickly overcame her shyness to squeal excitedly and tell the dogs that she had presents for them, quickly gaining their interest.

Kakashi's heart warmed as she produced a toy for each of them. They each took their gift politely, though the jounin knew that most would probably not play much with it. They were shinobi-trained ninken, not common house pets that were easily entranced by squeaky toys. But he was touched that his student had thought of them at all. However, their heads perked up dramatically, looking much more like easily excitable dogs than they normally did, as the chunnin teacher re-entered the room.

Kakashi's eye widened as he looked. He barely had time to register the plate full of burnt cookies before the other man placed it on the ground with a grin, and the dogs lunged for the food. His cobalt eye found Iruka's after a moment, and Iruka looked prickly at the stare, shooting him a questioning look back. "You remembered," was all the jounin said.

Iruka's confrontational look softened. "Yeah, of course I did," he mumbled, but he purposely tore his gaze from the jounin and focused on the commotion in front of him, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. The three genin exchanged confused looks, but Naruto shrugged first, knowing he'd never really understand adults.

* * *

Iruka let out a long breath as he collapsed into his couch for, hopefully, the final time that day. He was exhausted. The rest of the evening had gone relatively smoothly, considering the way it had started. Of course, there was more bickering between the two boys, but Sakura was there, at least for a short while, to straighten it out. Neither Iruka nor Kakashi even cared to give her grief about being so violent toward her teammates. At least her fists came with a side of justice.

The tired brown eyes surveyed the room. It was full of 8 snoring nin-dogs and two snoring boys, sprawled in various positions on his floor. Sakura had left after a brief stint of opening gifts. Kakashi had followed behind her, insisting that he had something to do but would return soon. And Iruka, not having the heart to send the two orphans home on Christmas night, had offered to let them stay the night. Of course, they had both stubbornly refused, so he had instead chided them to stick around until he at least finished cleaning up and could wish them a proper goodbye. His trick worked like a charm, and he had come out of the clean kitchen to them fast asleep after the long day and heavy food.

Did he know kids or did he know kids? Graduated, 'mature' genin or not…

He was almost nodding off himself when he felt, more than heard, Kakashi slip back inside without using the door. "I'm going to have to put traps on my windows," he teased softly as the jounin came back into the room behind him. But there was no malice in his voice and his eyes stayed half-lidded. However, they popped open as a small cup was placed in front of his face.

The steam hit his nostrils first, and then his tired brain registered the scent of warm sake. He peered up at Kakashi as he reached for the cup. The jounin balanced his own cup and the rest of the bottle in the fingers of his other hand. "Where did you get this?"

"Rusty Shuriken. Only bar open on Christmas Day," he suppled when Iruka quirked an eyebrow. The chuunin nodded and didn't press further at the fact that the other man knew the only place to drink on the holiday. It's not as though lonely shinobi were an anomaly.

"Hit the light, would you?" Iruka requested softly before the jounin could have a seat.

Kakashi snorted softly at the sleeping forms on the floor and flicked the switch next to him, then crossed the teacher to sit beside him. He flopped back into the cushion, much like Iruka had done, spreading one arm out while the other cradled his own steaming cup. The teacher paused with his cup at his lips as the jounin reached out with one finger and pulled his mask down to his chin without hesitation before taking a long sip. But Kakashi seemed as though he didn't even notice his own strange act. So the chuunin gulped and clumsily returned to his own drink, trying not to bring attention to the fact that he had stared for a moment.

"Thank you," he finally said, raising his cup slightly in acknowledgment.

Kakashi shrugged. "Thank you for inviting me for Christmas, Iruka-sensei. You didn't have to."

Iruka blinked. He stayed silent a moment as he let the hot cup warm his hands, then went with the easiest response. "You're a part of Team 7 too." It was the truth.

The pair enjoyed their sake in silence another minute. "Sorry about your tree," Kakashi finally offered, and Iruka glanced over to see that the other man looked sincerely abashed. He had never been offered much of an apology when the elite ninja teased or harassed him in the mission room or when he ran into him on the streets…

Iruka cocked his head at the tree that provided the only light in the room now. It glowed extra brightly with all the bulbs clumped into one small space. "I kind of like it."

Kakashi glanced at him, and Iruka grinned. The jounin melted into an easy and, admittedly, handsome smile in return, the calm in the air feeling almost magical now. Just like Iruka had _wanted_ the day to be…

Iruka sipped at his sake, feeling warmer than he should have after only a few drinks. "Merry Christmas, Kakashi-sensei."

"Merry Christmas, Iruka-sensei."


	7. Before

7.

Iruka pulled the door to his apartment closed with a resolute 'thud' and 'clack.'

It was Christmas day, and he hadn't been able to keep himself from moping most of the morning. But wallowing never did anyone any good, so he'd decided to dress himself normally and at least leave the stuffy mess that was his bachelor pad during winter break.

He didn't exactly know where he'd go. It would be his first holiday without Sandaime around, and he doubted he was invited to a Christmas feast at the present Hokage's home (whose idea of a feast was probably just loads of alcohol anyway). Asuma was celebrating his first Christmas with Kurenai. Anko was out on a mission. Naruto and Sasuke were… gone… For differing reasons…

He knew, overall, that today shouldn't be different than any other day recently had been. His two previous students had left the village some months earlier. It wasn't like he hadn't already gone many long days dealing with Sandaime's death either. The morning of Christmas shouldn't be any different than his typical morning, and day, going about his life as normally as possible.

But… it _was _different. The streets were deserted. Everyone was inside with family and friends. Shinobi who had none had put themselves out of village on a mission, or else been forced to do so either way. Iruka couldn't do that, as he had January lessons to plan before academy break was over.

Before he consciously realized it, his feet were halfway through taking him to the Memorial Stone. He mentally shrugged when he recognized the path he was taking. Visiting the dead might not be such a bad idea.

He wasn't used to it anymore, he realized. The loneliness on the holiday. Days from his childhood, after losing his parents, were hazy memory reels now. He had only put up with the darkness and solitude on holidays out of necessity, thinking that was how his life would always be from then on.

But more than one person had proven him wrong over the years.

He was now used to reassuring words, warm smiles, rambunctious boys, and sometimes even more rambunctious shinobi comrades…

He froze on the edge of the clearing where the stone stood.

He had also grown used to warm sake, loud dogs, and eccentric jounin…

The silver hair wafted in the light breeze, and Iruka felt a hard tug in his chest as he pondered what to do.

It wasn't as though he should have thought he'd be the only person visiting the stone on a big holiday, and truthfully, there was no way Kakashi would have thought that either. It wouldn't be _rude_, per say, to simply stand there, saying their silent pieces, together.

But Iruka still hesitated.

Was it really just a year ago that he and Kakashi had still been on friendly terms? When Team 7 was intact, full of hope, and gathered in his tiny living room? Before Orochimaru. Before the Chuunin Exams. Before the two men had bickered heatedly, in public and private, about the fate and future of the three students they had both obviously come to care for.

Kakashi hadn't moved, and the teacher considered just turning around. But he knew better than to think that just because the jounin hadn't acknowledged his presence that meant he didn't know he was there. Leaving now would just be more bad form and tension.

So, he started walking again, keeping his pace even and confident, though by no means intrusive. They were still colleagues. They could co-exist.

It was only a year ago, he told himself again. A mere year since Kakashi had perched on his windowsill, stolen food from his counter, and had spent Christmas with him as a friend. Just because all of that was _before_ didn't mean they were necessarily enemies now.

He came to a stop at a respectful distance from the other shinobi and wasn't surprised when he still wasn't acknowledged. So, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, studied the inscribed names, and spoke silently.

His eyes found Sarutobi's name first since it was fresh, and he had visited it quite frequently the last few months. Then he found his parents, and his gaze softened and stayed there for awhile longer. He had spoken to Sandaime many times recently, but it had been quite awhile since he'd felt the need to have a conversation with his parents – unlike when he was a child, sulking in front of their names, pouring out his heart to their ghosts, and refusing to leave the stone every day instead of being in class where he belonged. It had been a dark time, but he considered it better than the phase he'd gone through next, when he angrily decided he was done thinking of them at all. But he had long since made up for his immature antics in either direction…

He closed his eyes, bringing their faces to mind and holding them until he felt comfortable that he would never forget what they looked like. He tried for a moment to imagine what they would look like now, over a decade later, but it was difficult to picture them as anything more than the young, strong, spry fighters they had died as.

He remembered the last Christmas they had shared together. It had snowed. Only the second time Iruka had ever seen it. He had begged his parents to 'train' in it with him but had quickly grown weary of them going easy on him, and said he was going for a walk. He had found a couple of random passersby that he had tried to engage in snowball fights, until he had realized it was time to go home, lest he get a lecture for being out all day on Christmas instead of with his family… They had looked at him so strangely when he'd told them about his adventures dueling strangers.

He zeroed in on the memory of his father laughing with obvious disbelief – the way his face creased with merriment, love, and patience…

He barely registered hearing it but found himself tensing at the sound of the light shuffle of sandals turning away.

"I miss you." The words came out soft. No force behind them. Almost shaky, if he was being honest.

But the movement to his left stopped.

He kept his eyes closed. His hands balled in his pockets as he tried to focus on his breath.

The image of his parents began to drift away, swirling into more recent memories. The tan face crinkled as he struggled with the pictures in his mind.

"Every day… I'm alone…"

Iruka could feel the gray eye searing into the side of his head, even with his eyes shut. He could always feel that stare.

"Every day, I miss your smile and your voice and your stupid jokes." His voice began to shake. "And I miss them… There are so many more things I should have said before they were gone…"

He peeled his eyelids open slowly, and the brown orbs swept the stone again, shimmering with barely suppressed emotion.

"I want to go back to before. Before all the craziness and fighting. Before the disagreements that don't even mean anything. Everything changes and disappears too fast. I'm tired of losing… _everyone._"

He sighed, and his shoulders slumped as he felt all the energy leave his body now.

"I miss you," he repeated.

The air buzzed with a tense silence that Iruka was loathe to break. He had already said too much. His gaze went slightly hazy as he fixed it on a corner of the stone without names now – not reading, not remembering – simply waiting.

He finally heard the small shift in his companion's posture as the other man rested into one hip and looked to the sky with a small sigh of his own. "I miss them too."

Iruka's entire body tensed again, eyes squeezing shut and mouth wrinkling into an irritated frown. "I wasn't talking to the stone… you ass."

His eyes flew open again and shifted into a side glare as a deep chuckle erupted next to him. Kakashi turned back to him, his lone eye filled with laughter now. Iruka felt his cheeks heat up as he realized there was no malice in the look or the sound. But he didn't relax his grumpy look entirely. He had just poured out his heart on a whim and wasn't too pleased with having the reaction be laughter. "I know," the jounin placated. "But you were also talking about Naruto and Sasuke." His voice then softened with obvious sadness. "And I miss them too."

Iruka dropped the attitude in his stare, looked away, and nodded.

Kakashi exhaled loudly, sounding almost annoyed with himself. "I'm lonely every day as well… I should have known you, of all people, would understand."

The chuunin merely nodded vaguely. Regardless of any differences they may have had, the facts of the present day were that Naruto and Sasuke were both gone. One, for a few years' training – the other, indefinitely, if not forever. Nobody would have done more to prevent the latter than the rogue student's jounin sensei; and nobody missed the energetic blonde more than Iruka.

More than anything, the pain of feeling like an obsolete, if not a failure, of a teacher was a burden that both could surely relate to. Was an ego-war over particular teaching methods really relevant now?

Especially now that the man who had been a mentor and nearly father-figure to all in the village was gone as well. Sandaime's death had left a large hole in the hearts of every villager. And Iruka had meant what he said. He was tired of losing everyone. The students that he came to care for almost as his own children. His parents – his parental figures. Comrades, colleagues, a fellow teacher turned traitor… And to top it all off, the elite jounin that had befriended him through talks of their mutual students, playing with his nin-dogs, and Christmases filled with pranks and drinks.

Kakashi stepped beside him now, interrupting his pitying thoughts, and Iruka's chest filled with hope.

"I miss you too."

The tension released into a swarm of happy butterflies, flooding his entire body with warmth and relief. He peered up at Kakashi, an abashed smile stretching across his lips as though to ask 'What were we thinking?' The jounin returned it with an equally shy, but happy U-smile in his eye.

"The dogs miss your cooking as well."

Iruka burst into maniacal laughter, and he could tell that the sound pleased his companion. When his giggles subsided, he sighed, feeling much more at ease than he had in months. His body no longer felt wound up with constant stress and tension, and his normally buzzing mind was blissfully quiet. "Let's get a drink?" he suggested.

He found a lanky arm around his shoulders in an instant, steering him in the direction of what would be the only open shinobi bar on Christmas day. "Let's."


	8. Home For Christmas

8.

The bag spilled across the unmade bed with little care, and the contents of the shinobi vest pockets followed closely behind, adding to the disorganized pile. The badly banged-up hitai-ate slid over silver locks and clattered to the floor.

Kakashi felt every muscle in his body release with utter exhaustion, and he collapsed forward onto the small space not covered by weapons and supplies.

He breathed heavily into the dirty sheets, cursing himself for not taking care of them before he left, but also not particularly caring that much. His bare feet dragged on the dusty ground that he had neglected long before he had left for 3 months.

The mission wasn't supposed to have taken that long. He was _supposed _to have been in and out within a month _at most_. His cocky ass had estimated 2 weeks at the tail-end of summer. Now, here he was, dragging that same sorry ass into the village near the end of December.

He knew his place was a pig-sty at that point and that weapons needed to be cleaned, rations needed to be stored, his vest re-organized, a new hitai-ate pulled out of his closet to cover his sharingan, and – of course – several sheets of administrative paperwork still had to be filled out and turned in. His classified information had gone straight to the hokage, but there was always the mundane, bureaucratic nonsense that needed reported as well. He was simply not in the mood for any of it.

The assertive knock at the front door barely caused him to budge more than turning his head to the side to glare in the direction of his living room. He was also not in the mood for any sort of company. And god help whoever it was if they were one of the hokage's lackies pestering him for literally _anything _else right now.

Knowing his luck, it was probably Gai, come to either challenge him or insist on nursing him back to health once he spotted his mission-weary form, and honestly, the copy-nin didn't know what would be worse. So, he chose to ignore the noise and hope it went away.

It didn't.

He moaned in agitation and ignored it again.

The knock came one more time, though it seemed like it was lacking certainty the third time around.

The jounin found everything inside himself to push off the bed with the most irritated grunt he could muster. This had better be goddam important.

He whipped the door open with such a snap that the person on the other side of it jumped back with a yip, and then blushed quite fiercely and began to fidget when he finally took in Kakashi's haggard appearance.

Kakashi, on the other hand, softened his hard glare in surprise, when he found none other than Iruka on the other side of his door, clutching a plate with a lid on it. He had thought there was no one in this village he cared to see at the moment but found his tired heart warm at the sight of the tan sensei in a way he wouldn't have guessed.

The sensei, in turn, was gaping at him with bewilderment, and he could see the lines of teacherly worry starting to crease his face as the chuunin registered more and more of him. So, he did the only natural thing he could think of and attempted an easy smile. "Iruka-sensei… so good to see you."

Iruka's eyes flared with irritation even as it did nothing to lessen the worried expression. "Don't 'Iruka-_sensei_,' me, Kakashi… You look like…" he trailed off, seemingly unable to come up with anything within the realm of politeness to describe the jounin's current state. Kakashi tried to stare at him evenly, daring him to finish the sentence or just let it drop. He finally went for a different tactic. "Tsunade excused you from going to the hospital?" Iruka fixed his eyes sternly on Kakashi's own droopy one, and he could see the teacher take mental note of the fact that his hitai-ate was missing. He wasn't unaware that the left side of his face didn't look much better than the rest of it, even (or, perhaps, especially) with his sharingan eye closed, so all the bruises, bumps, and scrapes were extra visible without the headband cover. Good thing he at least had his mask still, lest Iruka be able to see just how much weight he had lost in his face.

But he merely shrugged. "She gave me a once-over but told me I needed my own bed more than the hospital's."

Iruka grimaced, not sure if he believed the jounin. It _could _have been something Tsunade said – it also could have been something Kakashi insisted upon and finally wheedled the hokage into agreeing to. But the chuunin sighed, deciding that the honest details weren't important at the moment. "Let me in."

Kakashi blinked at the demand but didn't fight back as the other man brushed him aside to enter his apartment. He finally scowled, decidedly less pleased to see his comrade than he had been a few moments earlier. "Oh, by all means…" he muttered sarcastically.

He had made sure he was plenty loud enough for Iruka to hear him, but the other man pretended not to. He heard the low cluck the teacher made with his tongue as he surveyed the filthy home, but Kakashi merely snorted. He had seen Iruka's apartment when he thought no one was going to be over, and the chuunin was absolutely no better than himself when it came to owning a bachelor pad.

Iruka gently set his platter down on the cluttered coffee table, atop several books and old magazines. Then he turned to the jounin and pointed to the couch with authority. "Sit."

Kakashi briefly considered arguing, but he knew it wouldn't go far, and he so didn't have the energy for an Iruka-battle today. So, he shuffled over and plopped into the cushion, not fighting whatever was about to happen, but not necessarily making his attitude accommodating.

Iruka pulled once at his ponytail in obvious frustration as he surveyed the jounin. "Do you at least have tea?" he finally asked.

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at the odd question. "…Probably?"

The teacher ignored the tone and seemed to accept the answer. "I'll go look. You go change and get another headband."

"I thought I was supposed to sit," the jounin snarked back.

"So help me god, Kakashi," Iruka sang as he started into the kitchen. "I will make it so you _can't _sit if you don't stop being an ass."

"Is that a promise?"

Iruka didn't respond, and Kakashi could no longer see him, but he knew his perverted comment had landed. He also was enough of a genius to know the other man's true intent, as well as the fact that he was in no shape to fight back against even a chuunin if he didn't comply. He needed to change and get that headband anyway. And tea _would _be nice.

He threw in a brief shower for good measure and emerged in a fresh headband, mask, and sweats. However, apparently the clean clothes and hair did nothing to hide the fact that he was still badly damaged from his mission. He saw it in the brown eyes that came up to rest on him when he heard the jounin step back into the living room. Kakashi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and tried to ignore the pools of concern that stared him down while he sat and focused on the steaming cup of tea that Iruka had been able to dig up. "Surprised you found a clean mug," he murmured, trying to distract from his appearance.

Iruka snorted. "I didn't."

"Oh." Kakashi didn't elaborate his thanks for doing the dishes, but he felt as though Iruka knew anyway. The first time the other man had happened to catch him after a rough mission, he had made very clear that he was not anyone's nurse, nor maid. Yet, it seemed he couldn't help himself from doing _something, _and Kakashi didn't want to tease him for it when he always benefited so greatly. He pulled his mask down enough to reveal his mouth, took a small sip of tea, and couldn't help but close his eye in bliss. God, warm food, liquid, or _anything_ had been a dearly-missed luxury for the last few months.

Beside him, the tan man bit his lip. "You've lost a lot of weight."

Kakashi stared straight at his cup. "Why, how nice of you to notice," he joked. "I've been trying to fit into my old pants and those darn hips kept getting in the way."

Iruka ignored him, but he could feel the unamused glare. He sipped his tea. "What you _really _need is food. Of course, you have none."

Kakashi chose to avoid explaining the fact that he, as a grown adult, didn't have so much as a non-perishable box of rice in his home and instead nodded his head in the direction of the platter that the chuunin had set down earlier. It certainly looked like it contained food. "What is that?"

Iruka finally let out a breathy laugh. "Nothing _you_ can eat." He reached over and picked up the lid, at last revealing a batch of very burned Christmas-themed cookies. "I brought them for the dogs as soon as I heard you were back."

Kakashi blinked, slowly setting his cup down. He peered at Iruka.

The chuunin flushed, looking confused. "What?"

"What day is it?"

Iruka's eyes softened. "It's… Christmas Eve, Kakashi…"

Kakashi stared at him a moment longer, blinked, then stared at the burnt cookies. He finally gave out a small, humorless chuckle. "Huh…"

He clasped his hands together, and eight poofs of smoke filled the living room, bringing with them eight grumpy nin-dogs.

"Do _not _tell us –" Pakkun began, but Kakashi quickly pointed in the direction of the platter, cutting off the angry rants that were sure to begin if the ninken thought they were immediately due for another mission.

"Treats," he interrupted, simply.

Eight pairs of ears perked up, and then there was a flurry of movement that knocked the platter off the table as it was engulfed by slobbering jowls and hungry tongues.

Iruka pulled his feet up to the couch to avoid being trampled on and laughed. He watched the scene for a minute then tilted his head to gaze at the jounin who had gone back to his tea as he watched the dogs scuffle and scarf down the scraps of cookie that they claimed. "You didn't know…"

"Hmm?"

Iruka rested his cheek against his knee. "You didn't know it was Christmas Eve?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Lost track of time. It's been awhile."

"Yeah… it has…"

The copy-nin shot him a look. "Surely, you have better things to be doing on Christmas Eve than making an emergency batch of burnt Welcome Home Christmas cookies."

The teacher shrugged carelessly, his brown eyes now fixed on the happy dogs spread across the living room. "Like what?"

"Like, literally anything."

"They're so happy though."

"Meh – you spoil them. They don't even say 'thank you.'"

Iruka snorted quietly. "Maybe I do. Though their owner isn't much better."

Kakashi ignored the jab.

The chuunin rolled his eyes and stretched as he popped off the sofa. "Speaking of, I guess I'll be back with _your _food."

The jounin held out a placating hand as the other man made his way to the door. "You really don't need to."

"Well, you aren't going to do it." Iruka toed on his sandals.

"Yes, I will," the jounin argued, but Iruka merely rolled his eyes again. Kakashi bristled. "I'm an adult. I can take care of myself."

"I'll be sure to write it on your tombstone."

Kakashi huffed at the sarcasm. The younger man opened the door to step into the evening that had already gotten quite dark since his arrival. "Ramen!" Iruka paused. Kakashi cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "Would be nice…"

He expected an argument about the nutritional content of the food, but in truth, he missed everything about the village after so long. Luckily, Iruka seemed to realize it. The brown ponytail bobbed in a nod. "Christmas Eve ramen. Naruto would approve," he said playfully but wistfully.

The door clicked closed and the light footsteps faded away. Kakashi leaned back into the cushions, hearing the soft snores coming from his exhausted, but satiated pack, and listened now for the footsteps to return to him, just as intently as a child might listen for Santa on Christmas Eve.


	9. A Team Kakashi Christmas

9.

"Would you please sit down?"

A single lazy, cobalt eye followed the frantic back and forth movements across the small apartment.

"You're giving me anxiety."

Iruka didn't stop his work but to give his jounin companion a withering stare that had the older man hunching down behind his book. "You _could _help, you know. Then maybe I could 'sit down' sooner and there would be far less anxiety in here."

"You always put your guests to work?"

Iruka rolled his eyes. "You're hardly a guest at this point. And everyone knows that if you choose to crash the party early, you get put to work."

Kakashi sighed dramatically. "And this is why I'm always late."

The chuunin slowed down just enough to take a deep breath, lest he repeat his and Kakashi's first Christmas get-together in his apartment - his tree this year looked very nice, and he was determined to keep it that way. "Naruto and Sakura haven't been here for Christmas in years," he explained with a hint of serious sadness that had the jounin peeking over his book again. "And I barely know anything about Sai and Yamato-sensei. I just want it to be nice."

Kakashi snapped his book shut and strode to the frazzled chuunin. He placed a light hand on the other man's shoulder, delighting in the fact that it actually stopped him from moving. And also, maybe, simply delighting in the fact that he had an excuse to touch the other man… "They'll be excited just to be here," he reassured with a happy curve in his eye. He praised himself as he felt Iruka's shoulder release some of the tension it had held. "Naruto and Sakura don't care what the place looks like. It honestly doesn't matter what Sai thinks – he's weird. And Ya- Ya- Ya …" Kakashi's eye suddenly went wide as he stammered over the last name.

Iruka quirked an eyebrow at him.

"_Yamato's_ coming?" he finally choked out, apparently having just registered this vital piece of information.

Iruka chuckled awkwardly, not sure where the freak-out was coming from. "Of course he is."

"_Why?"_ Kakashi insisted with horror in his voice, and he clutched at the chuunin's shirt now.

Iruka gently extracted himself from the insane grip. "What do you mean 'why?' He's part of the team." He turned to make himself busy in the kitchen, if only to get away from Kakashi's crazy antics.

But the frantic jounin followed him. "Barely," he groused, waving his hands in the air. "It's Team _Kakashi_. Not Team Yamato. _I _am Kakashi. He is not."

Iruka let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Are you serious right now?" Kakashi crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, blatantly pouting. "He's their instructor too, Kakashi." The jounin didn't respond and wouldn't even look at him. "What is your problem with him?"

"I don't have a problem," Kakashi mumbled, but his stature and tone gave that lie away without any effort.

Iruka placed his hands on his hips in a teacherly fashion. "You are acting like a child," he scolded. He, again, received silence. "Is this how you behave when you have to co-exist with him on missions?"

"This isn't a mission. This is _Christmas_."

Iruka blinked, a little taken aback. He leaned back into the counter now, crossing his own arms while he surveyed the sulking jounin. "I didn't realize the day was so sacred to you that you couldn't share it with your comrade," he teased.

Kakashi huffed, sounding very much like one of his annoyed nin-dogs. "I just don't see why he has to be here."

Iruka tilted his head to the sky as though asking the gods 'why me.' "Well, I've already invited him, so he's coming, so deal with it." He turned his back to the jounin and started organizing his cooking sheets for baking. Experience had taught him it was best not to start in on making desserts until the middle of the day on Christmas…

Kakashi didn't say anything; only stood there a moment longer, searing his one eye into the back of the brunette head. But when Iruka pretended not to notice, he lithely turned away, and Iruka heard him thump into the couch with the air of one of his students throwing a tantrum. Or perhaps Naruto had rubbed off on him since returning…

* * *

It was just the jounin's luck that Yamato-sensei and Sai were the first to arrive. He resolutely kept his head buried deep in his book, hoping that Yamato would take the hint and leave him alone. He resigned to lifting one hand in salute to Sai when Iruka made a point that he needed to greet his teammates. But then Sai asked if he could accompany Iruka to the kitchen to observe the Christmas cooking, seeing as how he never taken part in a particular feast or goodies on the holiday (let alone even celebrate the day), and Kakashi was left with the other jounin.

Yamato stood over him for an awkward length of time, but Kakashi refused to acknowledge him until he cleared his throat and spoke directly to him. "Ech-hem… Kakashi-senpai."

Kakashi merely grunted in response.

Yamato hesitated a moment, then sat delicately on the cushion beside the jounin. The copy-ninja could still feel his creepy gaze through his book shield. He clenched the binding a little tighter.

"Thank you for inviting me for Christmas," Yamato finally stated politely.

Kakashi grunted again, lifting one shoulder carelessly. "I didn't," he retorted plainly. "Iruka did."

Yamato was quiet for a moment as he thought this through. "Yes, but…" Kakashi rolled his eye, barely listening at this point. "You are hosts, together, aren't you?"

Kakashi lifted his eye from the page, though still not fully listening or comprehending what the other man was getting at. "Wha -?"

Just then, a crash came from the kitchen, making both men jump and look toward the doorway. "NARUTO!" Iruka's angry voice filtered out above the more general chaos and then they could hear the blonde kyuubi-boy's distinct whine.

"It wasn't me! It was Sai!"

Naruto stumbled out into the living room, Iruka following closely behind, shoving at him as though he were still a disobedient child. Too bad he was too big now to pick up by the back of his shirt anymore…

Sai followed them calmly. "You were stealing food."

Naruto glared at him around the teacher's taller form. "It's Christmas! The food is there to eat."

"Not until Iruka-sensei says so. He's the host. The host controls the food and all the activities for the day. You were sneaking in the window, thus, you were not given permission to indulge in the food yet."

Naruto looked like a vein would explode in his forehead from Sai's mechanical recitation of social norms that he had probably just looked up that morning, and even Iruka looked weary at the explanation. But he stepped forward, pushing Naruto back a centimeter more before he could retaliate again. "He's right, you know," he snapped. "I'm not even done cooking yet. You could make yourself sick picking at half-finished food like that."

"Even I know better than to steal food on Christmas, Naruto," Kakashi chided, having wilted back into his devil-may-care posture.

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, plopping himself defiantly on the floor and staring out the window.

Iruka sighed and turned back to Sai. "But in all fairness, Sai…" the stoic boy peered up at him. "If you could refrain from anymore violence today, even if it's warranted, my kitchen, and apartment, would be deeply grateful."

Sai nodded and stretched his mouth into his interpretation of a smile that he had been working on. "Yes, Iruka-sensei." And with nothing more, he turned and marched back into the kitchen, presumably to clean up the mess he had created from smashing his teammate face-first into the counter.

Iruka stared after him and scratched his head. "Is he always like that?" he asked the two ex-ANBU sitting to his side.

"Yes."

"Like what?"

Iruka shook his head, trying to will away the headache that was starting to creep up. He didn't know what was worse – the blatant hostility that had permeated Team 7 or the general social cluelessness of Team Kakashi…

* * *

"Sorry the kitchen isn't big enough for everyone," Iruka apologized needlessly. But everyone just waved him off as they crowded around the coffee table on the floor of the living room. Everyone but Sakura was used to existing in tiny bachelor apartments. The chuunin suspected most of them had rarely ever even used their kitchen tables for more than storing junk.

Iruka was just grateful that the rest of the cooking had gone smoothly with Sai's, and eventually a reluctant Naruto's, help for the rest of the afternoon. Sakura showed up shortly after her own family's early dinner had ended, probably still easily remembering the events of the last Christmas she had shared with her team and wanting to head off trouble before it started.

Even Kakashi had wandered into the kitchen looking for a task, though the teacher suspected that had to do more with wanting to get away from Yamato than some genuine motivation to be truly helpful, but he didn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Yamato, for his part, had kept himself entertained silently on his own. Iruka had a suspicion that he was doing some mild snooping, having never been in the other man's apartment before, but he didn't care. He was friends with enough nosy, and paranoid, jounin to be used to the ritual. It wasn't as though he had anything to hide.

The academy teacher had just settled into his own seat when he realized that Sai was awkwardly still standing, looking as though he had something to say. "Umm… Sai? Is everything alright?"

Sai shifted his eyes to Yamato. "Would now be a good time?"

Yamato gave what Iruka imagined to be his definition of a smile and nodded to his student. "Yes. Very good. Now is a perfect time," he praised.

Iruka turned to Kakashi who simply shrugged at him, looking just as lost as everyone else. Sai calmly went to where he had earlier put down his small bag of what one could only assume were Christmas presents, and returned just as calmly with a nice bottle of sake. He mechanically held it directly in between Iruka and Kakashi with his creepy, forced smile. "Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei – thank you for inviting me into your home on this holiday. This is for you."

Kakashi reached for the bottle slowly, seeing that his chuunin companion looked far too confused to deal with Sai directly at the moment. He hadn't had much experience with the strange young man. Before he could inquire further, Sai continued.

"It said in my studies of etiquette on being a guest, that it is customary to bring a gift to your host. Often bottles of liquor, especially when the event is a meal, are the most customary. I'm afraid I don't drink, so I hope the selection is adequate."

Naruto rolled his eyes between large gulps of food and looked like he was trying not to laugh. The teacher still looked adorably confused at the abnormal formality of the situation. The jounin tilted the bottle to Iruka whose eyes widened at what he had seen himself – the particular bottle that Sai had picked out was top shelf and not something that either of them ever spent money on themselves.

While Iruka goggled at the label, Kakashi cleared his throat and tried to be pleasant and patient with his oddest student. "Well, thank you, Sai. That was, indeed, very thoughtful." The boy gracefully took his seat while his instructor continued. "However, the host gift only goes to the host. This is Iruka-sensei's home. I had nothing to do with today."

Sai tilted his head. "Yes, but my book did state that if a couple hosts the event at one of their homes, the other party to the couple is still considered a co-host."

Iruka leaned back, breaking eye contact with the bottle just as Kakashi's hand went limp, letting said bottle roll to the floor with a thud. Both looked like they'd just been smacked. Iruka tried to recover first. "W-wait… Do you think that Kakashi and I are…" He trailed off.

"Romantically involved," Sai finished as though it were obvious.

Naruto choked. Sakura rushed to him as he flailed and hacked, dislodging the bite with one good whack between the shoulder blades. Kakashi, embarrassingly, didn't even have it in him to dodge the disgusting bit of chewed food as it shot out and pinged off his forehead protector before resting with a splat on the table. The visible part of his face was quickly turning red to match the color that had already consumed Iruka's tan cheeks.

Naruto took a large gulp of air and exploded before either of his instructors could respond further. "WHAT!?"

The outburst spurred Iruka out of his stupor, and he began waving his hands frantically at his old student. "No! We're _not!_" he insisted wildly, and then caught Kakashi's eye and was hit with a fresh wave of embarrassment. He tapered down his movements, trying not to look like he was protesting too much. A knot formed in his chest that was far bigger than a simple misunderstanding should have created. "Sai… why would you think that?"

Sai looked hardly abashed at the scene he had created. "Well, Yamato-sensei said – "

"Yamato!?" Kakashi whirled on his comrade, eye hardened.

Yamato merely peered back at him nonchalantly. "Was I incorrect?"

The copy-ninja looked like he was about to strangle the other man. "_Yes_," he ground out, trying not to show how ruffled he was but failing miserably.

Yamato proceeded to make his case, choosing not to acknowledge the clear tension in the room. "You're always over here."

"I am no – "

"You two are always out together."

Iruka blushed harder. "We're frien – "

"Kakashi-senpai, you're always cutting practice short to go spend time with Iruka-sensei."

Naruto gaped. "Is _that _why you're always late and taking off early!?"

Both highly embarrassed men put their hands up in defense. "No!" they cried in unison.

"It seemed only natural, considering the way you interact, that you are a couple."

"I mean…" Everyone whipped their heads to Sakura, who had been silent the whole time but was now looking like she was fighting something in her mind. She gave an amazed look to her two teachers as she seemed to cross the threshold into believing the hype. "This _is _the second year that you've hosted Christmas together."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Kakashi crossed his arms in a large X in front of him. "I am not a _host_! I am a_ guest _like any of you!"

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei showed up after me and Sasuke last time!" Naruto interjected.

"_Thank you_, Naruto."

"But… you _were_ already here… looking pretty comfortable this year…" The kyuubi-boy's eyes narrowed as he trailed off.

"And don't you normally spend the holiday together even when we're not here?" Sakura continued.

"_How long has this been going on_!?" Naruto demanded shrilly.

"Enough!" Iruka accentuated his shout by picking up the forgotten sake bottle and slamming it on the table with a loud clang. The room fell silent. The chuunin cleared his throat and set his shoulders back into an authoritative teacher posture. "Sai, thank you. Yamato-sensei was mistaken – Kakashi and I are not romantically or otherwise involved. But your gift is appreciated, nonetheless. Merry Christmas. Let's eat. _Now._" He banged the bottle down once more for good measure and was delighted when his companions slunk back to their seats and focused on their plates silently.

However, neither he nor Kakashi could make eye contact or stop themselves from flinching back any time they accidentally brushed knees or elbows the rest of the meal. And Kakashi knew damn well that Yamato could see it and was smirking beside him.

* * *

Kakashi leaned forward onto his elbows as he rested on the balcony. One lazy hand lifted in salute as Naruto, Sakura, and Sai's forms disappeared into the darkness of the warm winter night.

Yamato had insisted on helping Iruka tidy up, and the older jounin had petulantly gone out for some air, not being able to stand being in the small apartment with him for another minute.

He didn't even budge when he heard the door open behind him and his fellow team instructor step outside after bidding Iruka goodbye. "Ah, Kakashi-senpai, you're still _here_…"

Kakashi's teeth ground together so tightly it was a wonder they didn't crack. He clenched his fists. He could _hear_ the shit-eating grin in the other man's voice. It didn't take his genius mind to gather the implication that he was still hanging around to spend more one-on-one time with Iruka. But he refused to snark back or flee as either one could be construed as admitting guilt.

Yamato stepped up beside him. His voice was calmer now. "Apologies that that didn't go so well."

"What?" Kakashi drawled, unable to refrain from responding to the strange comment. It wasn't like Yamato to apologize for anything.

"I had hoped that my gift to you this year would be getting Iruka-sensei to admit the same feelings for you as you have for him." Kakashi jolted now and couldn't keep his wide eye from turning on Yamato. But his companion was strangely genuine in his delivery, simply looking out into the night with a contemplative look on his face. "I see that my plan to prompt Sai backfired to create more embarrassment for the both of you rather than a coming together."

Kakashi blinked, not able to think of an adequate response.

Then Yamato turned to grin at him once more. "Ah well, there's always next year. I hear there's a Christmas tradition with a plant that hangs in the doorway, and when two people end up under it together, they have to kiss. We could try that."

Kakashi's face started to turn red with rage again, and he narrowed his eye and opened his mouth to yell. But the younger man turned away with a haughty flourish. "Merry Christmas, Kakashi-senpai. See you in training." And he was gone.

The jounin wilted back, the rage leaving his body. Was he really that obvious that even Yamato took pity on him...?

He stood outside for another minute but was interrupted before he could go back in by a small, steaming sake cup set on the railing in front of him. He blinked down at it once and then grabbed it gratefully as Iruka settled in beside him. "You're letting me have some of your top-shelf sake?" he teased lightly. It was the first thing they'd spoken to each other since the earlier incident.

"Well, Sai did specify that you were one of the recipients," Iruka shot back, but neither spoke again to explicitly acknowledge the mix-up.

They blew on their cups together and took a small sip. Both moaned as the warm liquid poured down their throats with a smoothness they weren't used to.

"You didn't want to offer Yamato any?" Kakashi asked, genuinely curious since the teacher normally would have done so with his pristine manners.

He didn't miss the sour look that crossed Iruka's face at the mention of the other man. "No," he bit back. "I'm not sharing the good sake with him."

Kakashi burst into chuckles at the petulance and the fact that Iruka was turning to his side of finding Yamato insufferable. But then he thought back on the other man's attempted 'present' to him, and his own face softened just a touch. "Maa… he's not so bad," he muttered.

Iruka lifted an eyebrow at the change in character, but Kakashi ignored it and they both eventually went back to sipping their sake under the Christmas sky.


	10. Eight Ninja Reindeer

10.

Iruka sighed as his empty coffee mug clanked to the counter in the teacher's lounge. He had to return to his class soon. His completely distracted class of tiny ninja-wannabes. It had not been a good week, and an even less spectacular day…

It was just before Christmas break, but nobody was feeling very jolly with the most recent Akatsuki attack still fresh in everyone's minds. The academy wasn't even close to fully repaired yet, so the students had been crammed together onto the parts of benches that weren't completely splintered; sharing half-slabs of tables, and trying to shield themselves and their papers from the elements that constantly snuck in through the quarter of a wall that was missing in Iruka's classroom. They had done as much as deemed absolute necessary to get classes up and running again, but the rest of the reconstruction was relegated to Iruka and his fellow teachers after hours – as though they didn't already have enough on their plates…

But, despite all the destruction, the academy still needed to operate as best it could during normal hours. Getting more shinobi trained without delay was absolutely critical nowadays.

With that thought, the chuunin resolutely straightened his flack jacket and strode back to the room to relieve Shikamaru of the burden of going over quiz answers, from which he could already hear the resulting whining down the hall.

* * *

"No, Moegi, you can't just – "

A very strong gust of wind suddenly whipped through the room, blowing every quiz paper far away from its owner, including the copy in Iruka's hand. And with this blustery wind, came…

"Snow!"

Mutterings of surprise and confusion broke out across the room, as it almost _never _snowed in fire country, and the weather up to that point had not been even remotely chilly, nor had the wind been blowing.

Before many people could start to contemplate the snow, however, one child looked outside where the breeze had come from and suddenly exclaimed "IT'S SANTA!"

Several children turned to face the hole in the wall and gave gasps of wonderment. Iruka was still distracted with retrieving his paper in the corner of the room still shielded by wall. He grumbled at the commotion. "Would everybody sit back down!?" he barked. "What are you all - ?" but his voice trailed off as he came round the opening in the wall to see what everyone was staring at.

"It's Ninja Claus!"

And indeed… it was.

Just outside the classroom, in a perfect picture, reminiscent of a Christmas card, was a giant silver sleigh sitting in a thick patch of snow, more falling softly but steadily around it. Attached to the sleigh were 8 reindeer dressed in bandages and Konoha hitai-ate that indicated the mark of a ninja companion animal. And Santa himself, big white beard and bright red suit was standing at the helm, looking quite pleased with himself.

The entire class was now completely distracted and filtering quickly outside, any semblance of care about class utterly dissipated. But Iruka couldn't bring himself to notice or care. Shikamaru had even woken up fully and was standing, wide-eyed, at his side, trying to understand the scene himself.

Iruka's hand slackened as his quiz paper fluttered to the ground. "What is – ?"

"I don't know."

The elder teacher turned halfway to his companion. "Did you - ?"

"Nope."

"Then who is…?"

Shikamaru shrugged helplessly. "Santa?"

Iruka didn't know how to respond to that so he didn't even try.

His eyes followed the exuberant children as they crowded around the sleigh, petting the reindeer, chattering excitedly to "Santa" who smiled and laughed from his perch. Some were far more interested in the mythical amounts of snow that had come from the sky and were running around with their tongues out or trying to fashion crude snowballs for probably the first time in their lives.

His heart ached.

They looked like… kids.

Not vessels into which he was to pound the knowledge and skills of trained assassins. Just kids, enjoying a magical moment outside of all the destruction, chaos, and loss of the last several months, if not years.

An errant snowball dissipated against his chest, but he didn't care. His tan fingers trailed over the spot as the snow clumps fell, scooping a bit into his hand. Cold. Wet. _'Not a genjutsu.' _

He peered into the darkness for the first time. Being as it became pitch black before classes ended these days, it was hard to tell much of what was going on beyond the schoolyard, but he didn't see any snow falling outside the bounds of the academy. "Snow jutsu," he murmured mostly to himself.

His eyes finally turned back to the big, very obvious, Christmas anomaly in the yard, and he moved from his spot at last to slowly edge toward it.

The reindeer closest to him turned and eyed him – almost with a deep knowledge of him, it felt like. The teacher's eyes swept over the hitai-ate. As far as he had ever seen records, no one in Konoha owned nin-reindeer. Then again, for all he knew, there could be some crazy jounin on the outskirts of town who kept highly trained reindeer in some climate-controlled, snow-jutsued cave or something. It wouldn't be the craziest thing a shinobi from the village had ever done…

But they looked… almost familiar to him as well. He studied the bandages and other adornments.

One had the symbol for "shinobi" tattooed on its forehead. Another sported bandages almost around its entire head. His insides clenched, and his eyes narrowed as one turned its head, and the chuunin could now see the sunglasses perched on the long snout. He quickly searched the two reindeer in the front of the pack, and, sure enough, one was just barely hiding a spiked collar under the thick neck fur, and the one right next to Iruka had a single leg bandaged and his hitai-ate covering a good portion of his head.

He gaped at the reindeer as it seemed to smirk at him. "…Pakkun?" he whispered.

"Hey, boy-o," the reindeer grunted lowly.

"But that – " he whipped his head around and stared at "Santa." Or what he could see of Santa – which, with the big white beard covering his face, and hat tipped casually over his left eye, wasn't much. The white hair that stuck out in shocks beneath the hat, however, may have matched the beard just enough, but had enough of a silver tint to it to be unmistakable to Iruka.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to come up with anything intelligent to say.

He hadn't seen Kakashi in weeks, going on months, the jounin being extraordinarily busy with the Akatsuki business and Naruto. Of all the things the high-level copy-ninja could be doing on a night in the middle of a war, he was here... at the academy... entertaining Iruka's class of excitable children with an illusion of holiday magic. The chuunin hadn't even had a chance recently to tell him how bad morale was at the school. How did he always know...?

A fuzzy reindeer snout brushed his hand, and he vaguely catalogued it in his mind that they couldn't possibly be real reindeer, because everything about them was dry and too perfectly fabricated, like the big black nose that should have been damp but wasn't. But his group of pre-genins was too naïve to spot the signs of a high-level genjutsu.

He glanced down at the disguised Pakkun. The glassy eyes studied him with an intensity he had never experienced from any of the lazy jounin's companion animals, and he found his entire body flush with nerves. Then the dog/reindeer closed his eyes. "Merry Christmas." The casual remark was almost drowned out by the squeal of the next child that bounded up to admire the great beast, and Pakkun turned his attention to them instead. But Iruka heard it clearly and was overcome with warmth, but a deep confusion, at the same time.

He tilted his head toward Santa, brown orbs shimmering with emotion. The one eye that was visible beneath the fluffy hat brim, relaxed from its happy U-shape and shifted to him as well. When they locked, the knot in his stomach tightened in such a jolt that he physically straightened up more. His breath stopped.

Then, ninja-claus relaxed back into his jolly smile, waved a couple times, and went back to answering questions about The North Pole, the 'reindeer,' why he wasn't fat like the Santa in the stories, and his schedule for the holiday in a few days with all the aplomb of either the real Kris Kringle or a very experienced storyteller.

* * *

It wasn't long before the other classes heard the commotion and joined them. His fellow teachers were stunned, but Iruka brushed them off with a laugh and claims of "Christmas magic." Though all of them knew that the display was obviously not real, his calm toward the situation put the rest at relative ease as they allowed their own students to engage in the scene. Each tired face melted into relief, rather than annoyance, that their lesson plan was shot for the day. Iruka would be the first to admit that everyone in the academy was burnt out.

Even though most probably saw through the reindeer genjutsu as he had, only Shikamaru had seemed to figure out the true identity of Santa, shortly after Iruka did. An awkward exchange of glances had occurred when the lightbulb went off in the younger shinobi's head as he pieced together the clues, but he had merely raised an eyebrow and then returned to watching the kids play.

It was well after the usual end of class when Iruka finally ushered the last students out the front of the building. The staff had allowed them to frolic in the snow and engage with Santa and his reindeer for as long as they could. But when the first parents showed up, wondering if everything was alright, it became clear it was time to wrap things up.

Santa noticed and got the hint without Iruka even saying anything. He thanked everyone for making his "brief stop" so pleasant and insisted that he really must be going as he had a LOT of work to do. At the whines and protests, he had lectured all the children to remain well-behaved and vigilant for their parents _and teachers_, since Christmas Eve was still several days away and he had plenty of time to make adjustments to his naughty and nice list. He winked at the inquisitive children who asked to see him fly away and spun a tale about how he wasn't allowed to use such high-level Christmas magic when others were watching, so they had better hurry and give him and the reindeer privacy so he could get back to his home base and fill his sleigh in time for Christmas Eve activities.

Iruka rushed back to the courtyard after waving goodbye to the last pack of exuberant students, but the sleigh and all its inhabitants were gone, the cloud vanished. The night air was still and returning to its normal, humid, Fire country temperature. The only clue that it hadn't all been a dream was the thick crust of snow that still crunched under his feet.

* * *

Iruka made his way home slowly, relishing in the silence of the late night. Despite the festivities, he had still had to stay behind everyone else and finish up Christmas break paperwork duties as head of the academy. Shikamaru had stayed awhile to help with the brunt of it, but he sent him home toward the end, telling him to enjoy his holiday break.

The elder sensei's face flushed red, gracefully hidden by the darkness. Nothing had been said in the quiet shuffling and filing of quiz papers, grade reports, and lesson plans about the events that had transpired only moments before. Iruka had stayed silent on purpose, his mind awhirl and unsure how to process the evening. His companion had stayed blissfully quiet as well, though the tension hung obviously in the air.

The Naru genius had only implied anything when he was on his way out, smirking softly in his superior's direction. "Goodnight, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka smiled. "Good night, Shikamaru. Thank you for all your hard work."

Shikamaru stopped in the entryway of the classroom. "Have a, uh… good…" He paused, eyeing the other man out of the corner of his eye. Iruka stared at him. Fingers tapped the side of the doorway suggestively. "_Christmas break_."

The words were innocent, but the tone had Iruka prickling with embarrassment. But before he could respond, his previous student was gone.

All for the best, Iruka thought, as he plodded toward his house. He didn't feel up to answering any probing questions. Especially since he had no answers himself.

His feet continued to plod ahead, even as his heart pounded in his chest. Part of him was sure of what was waiting for him, and another part of him wasn't entirely ready to deal with what it meant to him.

But, despite his shuffling, his weary feet still carried him home, and, even though he could only make out a silhouette leaning against his balcony, his chest fluttered with recognition.

Kakashi stepped forward as Iruka came to a halt in front of him.

The night was warm and sticky – as per usual in Fire Country – the snow-scaped scene in the academy courtyard a faraway dream as the crickets chirped around them.

So, it was quite amusing to see the jounin still in his Santa outfit. He had to have been sweltering, but pulled down the beard to reveal a pale, grinning face. "So…"

Iruka gazed at the bare, youthful chin.

"Come tell Santa what you want for Christmas."

The teacher's breath left his body in a harsh whoosh as the first snort escaped him. His entire being flushed with warmth as he was overcome with glee; made even stronger as he noticed his laughter lighting up the man in front of him.

* * *

"I see you've already made yourself at home," Iruka commented as he walked them through the already unlocked door.

The admonishment was far from fierce. After all, who could really be mad at eight snoring nin-dogs covering their living room?

Nonetheless, Kakashi scratched the back of his neck and offered a small apology. "They sniffed out your 'Christmas treats' as soon as we arrived. I couldn't really stop them after that."

Iruka chuckled in his throat. "Those were supposed to be for _Christmas_." He placed his hands on his hips and surveyed the sleepy, happy mutts in front of him. "Though I suppose after what they did today, they deserve an early present."

He turned back to Kakashi slowly, who was staring at him evenly. His beard and hat were fully off now, his hitai-ate back in place instead, clashing horribly with the bright red suit he still donned. Under normal circumstances, Iruka would have teased him. But this time, he swallowed to steady the intensity he knew would otherwise be in his voice.

"After what you all did today…"

The house went quiet. Only canine snores and snuffles could be heard as the two men entered a staring contest.

Finally, the jounin shifted, and the shuffling of the Santa pants broke Iruka.

"Why did you do it?" It came out a whisper but was heard clearly through the still apartment.

Kakashi calmly slipped his hands into his pockets and continued to stare evenly. "I need a reason to spread Christmas cheer?" The words were light, but the tone wasn't convincing, instead hanging dead in the air.

Iruka ignored it. He could tell he was making the other man nervous now, never taking his wide brown orbs off him. He took one step closer and stopped breathing for a second as he saw the movement trigger something in the jounin's eyes.

A pale hand started to raise toward his face.

And both men startled back at the loud "CAW!" from the windowsill.

The crow outside the window pecked noisily at the glass in case his shriek hadn't been enough, thus disturbing all eight nin-dogs who shot awake with grunts and yips.

Iruka stilled his own rapidly beating heart with a healthy dose of irritation. Kakashi appeared to share the annoyance, raking the hanging hand through his silver hair now. The moment broken, he strode to the window and allowed the bird to deliver its message before flying off into the warm night. His dogs sat expectantly, Iruka behind them.

He knew what a bird in the middle of the night meant.

Kakashi sighed and muttered an order that only the keen nin-dog ears picked up on, and with eight poofs of smoke, Iruka was now alone in his living room, save the jounin, who was trying very hard not to look at him. But he didn't leave yet.

The chuunin finally crossed the distance slowly. They stood quietly a moment longer, the breeze through the open window their only sound. "A mission?" Iruka finally asked, though it was more a statement than a question.

Kakashi nodded. "Leaving as soon as possible."

Iruka bobbed his head in understanding, though he couldn't keep the miserable look off his face. "How long?"

The other man let out a long breath. "Not sure. Shouldn't be too bad. Couple days?"

Iruka's heart jumped with hope.

"But maybe closer to a week, depending on how things go."

And it dropped again.

But he took a steadying inhale, preparing to be brave, like a good shinobi. "Alright then… Be safe." He paused, then decided to press forward. "And – "

"If I don't make it back in time for Christmas…" Kakashi interrupted, finally looking at the younger man intently. Iruka blinked. The jounin reached into a pocket of his Santa pants and pulled out a small box. He fiddled with it only once, and then overcame the awkwardness as he held it out in offering.

The tan man took it carefully. He looked to Kakashi's eye once before opening it and was met only with soft expectation. He licked his suddenly dry lips and lifted the lid slowly.

Lying inside was a small pendant on a silver chain. When he picked it up with his fingers to study it, he could make out a large snowflake design in the middle. Though it didn't look like a children's drawing of a snowflake – it was quite intricate with delicate patterns.

"It's from Snow Country."

Iruka looked up, his eyes wide with curiosity. "Snow Country?"

Kakashi nodded. "I jutsu-ed it last time I was there. Made it larger and sealed it inside so it would keep."

The other man inhaled sharply as he looked back at it. "You mean… this is_ real_?" he breathed with wonderment.

Kakashi only continued to stare at him. "I know how much you love the snow, and how rare it is around here. Now you can look at it whenever you want."

Iruka didn't react for a moment, his mind catching up with the touching gift. He flipped the pendant over and sideways more, with a blank and studious face.

Kakashi began to shift, and a hand went to the back of his silver head awkwardly. "I mean… if you don't like it or don't want to wear it –"

"No!" The outburst stopped the older man, and now he could see the extremely large grin spreading over Iruka's face. "I _love _it."

Tossing the box aside, he spread the thin silver chain to slip it over his head and ponytail. The pendant rested in the center of his chest, and he continued to smile down at it with excitement. Shining eyes came back up to the jounin while one tan hand encircled the pendant. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten, Kakashi… thank you."

He couldn't be sure, and he was certain Kakashi would deny it, but he swore he saw a blush creep from under the mask and onto the pale cheek in the dark. Kakashi stared off to the side in supposed nonchalance, but it was obvious he was pleased. His eye curved. "I'm glad you like it."

Iruka's face fell now as a thought hit him. "I don't have anything for you yet…"

"Hmm?" The jounin looked genuinely confused. He chuckled softly at the distress on the other man's face. "Maa… I don't need anything. You know me."

"But –"

"Just…" Iruka paused, waiting for whatever request he could possibly grant. Kakashi cocked his head just slightly. "… Be here to wish me a Merry Christmas… whenever I return."

But before the chuunin could respond, he was met with blank space and only the breeze from the open window. His shoulders drooped and all the breath and anxiety he'd been holding since arriving home deflated out of him. But he nodded at the window, in case Kakashi could still see him. "I will," he whispered.

After all the Christmas magic he had given him that day, he could most definitely keep a promise like that.


	11. And A Happy New Year

11.

The_ Same Year: New Year's Eve_

Iruka stepped out into the night, relishing in the cool air that washed over him as he left the stifling atmosphere of the packed party inside. It wasn't snowing yet, though there had been rumors that it would tonight. Even if it was a long shot, one never knew. After all, it had snowed a few times for him in the last decade of holiday seasons – even if some of them were jutsu-provoked.

The thought had him frowning softly. Kakashi still wasn't back. He hadn't made it in time for Christmas, which had bummed Iruka out considerably. Not that he had any right to be entitled to the jounin's company on Christmas, but he had grown used to it. The day had felt empty without him, as well as the rest of Team Kakashi as they were all busy with their own tasks nowadays.

Anko, only around due to chakra exhaustion on her last mission, had summoned the energy to loudly interrupt his day halfway through when she had realized that he was probably sitting home alone. But even her insistence on drunken karaoke into the wee hours of the night just couldn't compare to having his own personal snow cloud and snoring nin-dogs (or a snoring Naruto) while he and Kakashi shared a glass of warm sake.

The chuunin shook his head. There was no point getting wistful about it. The day had come and passed a week ago. His friends had dragged him out to the bar tonight to ring in the new year. And he would… he just wanted some fresh air first.

"Not enjoying the festivities?"

The brunette's heart leapt in his chest at the familiar drawl. Unable to hide his excitement, he whipped around with wide eyes and broke into a grin at the sight of the one and only Sharingan Kakashi leaning against the side of the building with his normal slack posture. He was _back_. He looked moderately tired but honestly, far better than he normally did after missions.

Iruka stepped forward so he could see his face properly through the shadows. "I'm glad you're back."

Kakashi pushed himself fully upright. "Me too," he responded simply.

The single exposed eye seared into him despite the jounin's nonchalant attitude, and Iruka felt the familiar prickle go through his entire body. But he didn't fight it anymore… He wouldn't want that eye to be looking anywhere else except directly at him.

A tan hand flew subconsciously to the pendant around his neck. The teacher barely noticed his own fiddling, but Kakashi did, seeming to gain more confidence at seeing his gift still being adored by the other man.

"Sorry I didn't make it sooner."

Iruka melted into a soft gaze. "It wasn't Christmas without you," he admitted, though there was no accusation in his voice. He knew how the life of a shinobi was… - didn't mean he couldn't dream. "Nothing is the same when you're not around."

Kakashi didn't say anything further, but he couldn't hide the fact that his genius brain was working overtime as he continued to study the man in front of him. And Iruka wasn't about to break the silence. The Christmas without the jounin had firmly cemented his place in Iruka's heart. He had come to terms with what he wanted from the other ninja while Kakashi was away – more Christmases together. More days. More nights spent eating ramen and chuckling at his nin-dogs' antics. He'd already been enjoying such things for years, but, sitting at the karaoke table without the silver-haired nin beside him, had him thinking about suddenly _not _having those moments anymore… That had been the thought that put the nail in the proverbial coffin.

It felt emptier than it had even when Naruto had left him behind. It was a different kind of ache. The kind that had forced him to stop being a typical shinobi wuss when it came to feelings. So, he had accepted it. And he wasn't going to back down out of awkwardness now. He kept his brown eyes steady while the jounin worked through his own private thoughts and reservations.

"30 SECONDS!" Anko's overexcited voice cut through the walls of the bar and pierced the quiet air around the duo.

Kakashi shifted his head toward the door. "Do you want to go in?"

Iruka shook his head. He tightened his grip around the thoughtful gift that Kakashi had left for him a little over a week ago. He remembered the effort that the jounin went through to cheer up his students and the way that the lone cobalt eye had looked at him in his apartment before he'd been called away. He swallowed and allowed the next words to come out low and thick with emotion. "No. I'm fine ringing in the new year right where I am."

The jounin's shoulders finally squared up at the sureness behind the words. Iruka licked his lips, and the chant began to filter out from the crowd inside.

_10…_

Kakashi stepped forward.

_9…_

Iruka closed the distance.

_8…_

Kakashi lifted a hand to the back of the brunette head.

_7…_

Iruka reached for him.

_6…_

Two warm bodies leaned into each other.

_5…_

Iruka's hands gripped the jounin's arm and waist.

_4…_

Kakashi tucked a finger under his mask.

_3…_

The first snowflake hit Iruka's cheek.

_2…_

Both titled their heads to the side as Kakashi leaned in, cloth slipping beneath his chin.

_1…_

Eyes closed.

_"__HAPPY NEW YEAR!"_

The cheers from inside and the bells chiming out over the village were mere background noise as their lips finally touched. The prickles turned into pure electricity that shot through Iruka's entire body, but he fought hard to keep their first kiss simple and pure. Through the warmth that they had formed around them, he registered the cold dots hitting his bare skin on the vague periphery of his senses.

As Iruka finally pulled back, he looked up to smile at the feathery snowfall that had encased them. "You?" he asked, sure that the jounin had manufactured the perfect moment.

Kakashi chuckled. "No, actually."

Iruka quirked an eyebrow.

The other man grinned broadly. "I promise! I was far too distracted to conjure a jutsu. This is all natural magic," he winked.

Iruka grinned back, not entirely sure he believed the other man, but also not much caring as he continued to stay wrapped in the long, strong arms – the bare, handsome face still mere inches from his own.

"Happy New Year, Kakashi."

The jounin's arms tightened around him and he brought his head to tuck just under the pale chin, relishing in the embrace. It was just them, a blank year ahead, a fresh sheet of snow coming down to blanket the world with a clean slate. No thoughts of impending danger or war at that midnight moment. As far as Iruka was concerned, their little personal bubble was full of infinite potential for how their next year might go. At least that's what he was going to tell himself tonight, and Kakashi very much looked like he was willing to go along with it for now.

The silver haired man sighed happily. "Happy New Year, Iruka."


	12. Christmas Traditions

12.

Kakashi glowered at the stack of papers as they fell with a large boom in front of his face. He peered around the stack, locking eyes with his chuunin deliverer. "Believe it or not, this is not what I wanted for Christmas."

Iruka merely crossed his arms and fixed his significant other with a stern look. "Believe it or not, you could have had all of this done a week ago."

"You're right – I don't believe you."

The teacher sighed, bringing one tan hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "You can't push off your paperwork to Tsunade forever, you know. Especially since she could barely get it done herself when she was the official hokage."

"I don't plan to," Kakashi responded simply. Iruka raised an eyebrow at the matter-of-fact tone. "I plan to wait until Naruto surpasses me, and then push it all off on him."

Iruka rolled his eyes, going along with the half-joke. "That will be years yet."

"And I will be sure to preserve it all in pristine condition for him until then."

The chuunin smirked but didn't respond further, opting instead to pull up a chair facing across from his pouty, hokage boyfriend. He leaned back into it, seemingly nonchalant, but he folded his hands in his lap in an authoritative fashion. "You know, I have better things to be doing than chasing you down for tardy paperwork."

Kakashi leaned into one pale hand and lazily pulled a single piece of paper from the top down in front of him, studying it with a bored eye rather than look at the lecturing man. "You don't say?"

"It's not Shizune's job either. She's still Tsunade's assistant, not yours."

"Hmm…"

"You know you were supposed to hire your own assistant to the hokage months ago."

"Was I?" Kakashi flicked idly at the corner of the sheet of paper that Iruka could tell he wasn't even truly reading.

"Yup."

The petulant hokage offered no response. The brown eyes continued to bore into his forehead.

"I'm not doing this again."

"But you're so _good _at it." Kakashi finally lifted his head just enough to smile sweetly at his companion.

Iruka remained unamused. "I've told you already, I want to stay at the academy. I put up with enough in the mission room. And I already babysit you at home – the last thing I want is to chase you down and be responsible for your poor work ethic full-time."

Kakashi bristled slightly, his smile dropping. "You do not babysit me."

Iruka's deadpan expression didn't change. "This is not sexy. It does not turn me on."

"Okay, okay." Kakashi waved a hand in his direction. As childish and stubborn as he was, he wasn't called a genius for nothing, and Iruka had a point. Every time his chuunin lover had to track him down for hokage duties, their relationship was decidedly more strained that night when they returned home. He liked having Iruka around to make the soul-sucking work more tolerable, and obviously trusted him more than most in the village, but he knew the other man was right – he had to find a true assistant. "I'll take care of it right after the holidays."

The chuunin was silent a moment as he studied the unhurried movements across the desk. He finally sighed contemplatively. "I could always ask Ebisu if he'd be up for the job again…"

Kakashi's head snapped up at that, the horrified look evident even through his mask. "What!? No! I said I would take care of it!"

"This week."

"_After_ the holidays."

Iruka scowled.

Kakashi sighed.

The chuunin's sandaled foot tapped the air impatiently.

"Come on. I just want to enjoy this week with you. I will do it."

"_Right _after the holidays."

"Yes."

"Like, January 2nd. There better be a line of interviewees out this door."

"Working on the mental list as we speak."

Iruka bit his lip and contemplated a moment, making the jounin sweat. He finally ticked his eyebrows, looking off out the window and slumped back further. "Fine."

Just to prove how seriously he was taking his job, Kakashi finally picked up his official stamp and pounded it onto the paper in front of him with authority. Then he dutifully picked up the next sheet and stamped it as well.

Iruka watched the pattern repeat for a few moments. "Are you even reading them?"

The silver-haired man sighed, a rare chance to act like the annoyed one of the duo. "Do you want these done or not?"

He knew that normally, Iruka would have had a nasty retort and a lecture just waiting on the tip of his sharp tongue. But he watched the teacher think for a second, then visibly swallow his retort. Iruka was a stickler, but he had a feeling that the other man wanted to get home just as badly as he did.

At the silence, he decided to press his luck. "I even have an extra stamp if you want this to go even quicker."

Iruka graced him with a half-lidded look.

"You're thinking about it."

"I will _sit _with you and keep you company."

Kakashi clucked his tongue in mock disappointment, but neither man said anything more as the hokage fell into a rhythm of stamping his 'important' papers, and Iruka pulled out his lesson plan notebook and began his own work.

* * *

The sun was just starting to lower in the sky when Kakashi finally had to tear his gaze away from the white paper and black lines that had begun to blur together in his vision. He leaned back in his chair and brought one hand to massage the back of his neck with a hiss. Iruka didn't stir from his own steady work as the silver-haired man sighed and spun his chair in boredom. Suddenly, he gasped.

"Iruka! It's snowing!"

He heard the soft snort of disbelief. "Yeah right. Get back to work, Kakashi."

"No, seriously! Look!"

There was a drawn-out, resigned sigh, but the chuunin slowly lifted his head. Then he blinked rapidly as his eyes widened at the sight. The snow was coming down hard and swift, almost blinding them to the view of the village. He gaped in wonder for a few moments. "Wow… I've never seen it come down like that."

Kakashi whipped his head to his boyfriend. "Let's go out in it!"

Iruka seemed to pull himself back to reality and shook his head, though there wasn't much force behind it. "No… you _have _to finish that stack today, Kakashi."

"You _love _the snow."

"Yes, and I'm sure it will still be there tonight."

"Yeah, but maybe not coming down like this. This is once in a lifetime here."

Iruka bit his lip but shook his head once more, returning his gaze resolutely to his notes. "We both have work to do."

"Iruka…"

The chuunin lifted just his eyes once more at the soft tone.

Kakashi tilted his head at him adorably, pleadingly… "It's Christmas Eve…"

He both felt and saw the chuunin's resolve start to crumble throughout his entire posture but mostly his expression. He could pretend to be a responsible academy instructor 99% of the time, but Kakashi knew the look of childish amazement that lurked beneath the chocolate orbs. The snow reflected off them as he couldn't keep his gaze away any longer.

The older man smirked. "Unless, of course, you think you can't best me in a snowball fight."

Iruka's brown ponytail jerked as he snapped his head to Kakashi. "Excuse me?" he growled.

Kakashi mentally cheered himself. Right where he wanted him… "I challenge you to a snowball fight, Iruka Umino. Unless you're too scared to take on the hokage. I understand. Most _desk shinobi_ like to hide behind paperwork…"

_'__Bingo,' _he thought, as he felt the chakra flare. He didn't abuse such a power often, but he _did_ know exactly how to rile the other man up with his teasing.

Iruka threw his belongings onto the desk with sharp defiance, rising to smirk down at Kakashi in return. "Let's go," was all he said.

* * *

Kakashi snickered as he launched another snowball at the tan chuunin's head from his hiding spot. Iruka whirled every which way in frustration, blinking the snow out of his eyes rapidly and unable to hide his growing frustration.

The jounin almost felt bad for him… He had had numerous encounters in colder climates, even Snow Country, specifically. Whereas Iruka had never encountered snow that fell from the sky so violently. The chuunin had an affinity for the soft, gentle flakes that Fire Country usually got if they got anything, or enjoying the after effects of the snow already on the ground.

The thick, white flakes that whipped almost sideways directly into one's eyes were a different beast entirely. He could see the sensei hunkering down against the weather, gritting his teeth as he tried to adapt and think of a strategy. The silver-haired man sighed and chuckled low in his throat. The other man was beginning to look more like one of his wet, angry nin-dogs than a shinobi who had a plan. He was just about to step out into the clearing and suggest that they go back inside after all and save his lover the agony, when the other man suddenly disappeared.

Kakashi blinked at the vacant spot, barely keeping up with the illusion that was created by the berating flakes. Then he tensed. Something was coming…

He jerked to the side just in time to dodge the icy ball that came flying out of the trees behind him. Shocked, he jumped into a different tree and tried to hide himself among the wet foliage. The dark eyes squinted into the white landscape but couldn't find any trace of Iruka. How on earth had the other man gotten _behind _him when he had been out in the clearing just moments before?

The jounin braced himself against the trunk of the tree and felt the excitement bubble up inside him. Iruka was always tricky… He'd been duped once again. All the time that he'd thought the chuunin was struggling in the snow, he was probably stealthily locating his enemy without notice.

Alright then. It was truly 'on' now.

Kakashi stretched out his own chakra, feeling into and around the trees until he caught the lightning quick movement of feet leaping skillfully through them. He mentally took a moment to be proud of how precise the chuunin's chakra was as he flitted, without slipping, along the icy branches. Then he gathered his own chakra and concentrated it into a wind attack that would hit the other's projected movement. He was rewarded with a sound of distress that almost covered up the thud onto the snow-covered ground as the blast shot icy air and snow at his opponent. He quickly hopped over to where the teacher had landed, but blinked in surprise to find nothing more than a body-sized indent on the ground, and no trace of the one who had left it.

The jounin quirked an eyebrow at the impressive speed, then had a thought… Deftly jumping down off his branch, he made sure to aim his landing directly in the center of the imprint.

He displayed outward obliviousness as he was rewarded with a large "oof!" and spluttering as he hit all of Iruka's most painful organs with the balls of his feet. He blinked down slowly in mock surprise as the chuunin allowed his genjutsu to dissipate, and he glared angrily up at the silver-haired man still perched lithely on top of him. "Oh… Iruka…" he drawled. "Had no idea you were there." He still made no move to get off of him.

Iruka, in turn, gathered enough strength through the pain to dig his hand into the snow and flick the offending bits up toward Kakashi's face, causing him to finally jump off to avoid the pitiful attack. The tan man pushed himself to a sitting position, breathing heavily from the taller man crushing his lungs moments before. He swiped at his runny nose in the biting cold while never taking his fierce brown eyes off the jounin.

Kakashi leaned against a nearby tree and shoved his hands in his pockets, peering at the sensei through the swirl of snow still hurtling from the sky. "Give up yet?"

Iruka didn't respond, but he continued the hard stare until suddenly, his head dropped down to one propped up knee. He looked like he was about to admit defeat.

Then he plunged both hands deep into the snow at his sides, and Kakashi barely had time to feel the earth shake before a barrage of icicles plunged straight down from the tree branches overhead. He flitted past them with legendary speed and disappeared from sight and the area altogether, but his heart still pounded at the slick trick. He'd never seen Iruka pull that one before…

He slipped back past the line of trees and made himself conspicuous in the clearing again. The sensei was getting rowdy and cocky again. That just wouldn't do for the hokage of the village… It was time to step it up and put him back in his place… again…

He saw the brown ponytail bob behind a tree just on the edge of the clearing and smirked as he knew Iruka was trying to figure out why he was just standing there. He didn't feel like wasting anymore time in trying to lure him out though, especially since Iruka was far too smart for dumb tricks. So he did the next best thing and quickly clasped his hands together, materializing a couple of clones.

They made quick work of diving into the forest and forcing the chuunin out of hiding with a barrage of attacks. The teacher skidded to a halt in front of the original Kakashi and scowled at him. "I thought this was supposed to be a one-on-one fight," he taunted. "Call off your clones and face me yourself."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, a not-unpleasant jolt of attraction hitting his lower stomach at the strong words. But he merely whistled through his teeth once and summoned the two other Kakashis to his side. They all tilted their heads at the flustered chuunin.

Iruka huffed in annoyance but straightened up. "Fine. You wanna play it that way?" He clasped his own hands together and produced two clones of his own so they were evenly matched.

Without words, all six figures sprung into action, lobbing more snowballs than the normal eye could see; losing themselves in the chaos of the white wonderland that whizzed around them.

Finally, all the Kakashis were leaning into the ground on one knee to recover, and all of the Irukas did precisely as the Kakashis wanted and tried to launch a unified aerial assault – springing into the air and trying to come down on them all at once.

The masked man smirked and shot his jutsu through his palm that was pressed into the earth.

A sheet of ice flew into the sky between the opponents. Two Irukas were deftly pierced and poofed out of existence. The third Iruka tried to stop himself from face-planting with the ice but went careening to the ground when he didn't have enough time to get the chakra in his hands and feet to stick properly.

To his credit, he scrambled back to his feet quickly, trying to spot any of the three Kakashis through the hazy wall, but they had all disappeared. But he only had a split second to wonder where they were before a hand shot out of the ground at his feet, grabbed his ankle, and had him pinned on his back before he could yell.

He took a moment to come back to himself and try to process what had just happened, then attempted a small wiggle. But it was no use. He could feel the full weight of the jounin pressed along the length of his body and the cold hands clasped around both wrists. It was only as the damp coldness against his back began to seep in and the masked face hovered just inches above his own that he started to feel a wave of familiarly wash over him.

Kakashi leaned down so the tips of their noses touched. "Pinned you again."

Iruka blinked. "Again…?" His mind swirled with a blur of memory snippets.

The victorious man leaned next to his ear now. "Do you surrender?" he whispered.

Iruka's head jerked to the side to stare at the ice wall, then jerked back to Kakashi, his eyes showing the realization mixed with lingering bits of confusion swirling in his eyes. "Wait… you…?"

Before he could finish, Kakashi's mask was down and his lips were pressed against the stuttering ones, finally claiming his prize as the snow covered them both.


End file.
